Students beaten and arrested at demos in Harare and Bulawayo

Riot police are reported to have used violence to break up peaceful demonstrations by students in Bulawayo and Harare on Wednesday. Several student leaders, who were briefly detained in both cities, say they were brutalised by police while in custody. The group detained in Bulawayo included Privilege Mutanga, the ZINASU Gender and Human Rights Secretary, who is 9 months pregnant. She suffered a broken hand and a twisted ankle during the assaults and was rushed to Harare for treatment on Thursday.