Riot police in Zimbabwe have fired teargas and beat up more than 100 opposition supporters after they defied a ban to protest against the worsening economy.
Scores of people took to the streets of the Harare capital on Friday in defiance of the ban, which was upheld by a court.
Police cordoned off central Africa Unity Square, where the demonstrators had planned to gather, warning that the demonstration would be illegal and protesters would “rot in jail.”
Police also cornered a group of protesters and beat them with batons, with one woman carried into a Red Cross ambulance.
“People were just singing, people were happy, peacefully. Then they saw the police coming — they were encircling people, they were actually surrounding the supporters then they came closer to us and started beating people,” a 35-year-old protester who gave her name as Achise told AFP.
“This is worse than during colonial times,” said a man who declined to be identified. “We aren’t armed but the police just beat us while we were sitting on the street.”
Friday’s protests went ahead after opposition plans for large-scale marches were banned by the police late on Thursday.
An attempt by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party to challenge the ban in court was rejected, but more than 100 MDC supporters defied the ruling before being chased by baton-wielding officers from a city square.