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TEHRAN, Jan 16 - Leading Zimbabwean activist Evan Mawarire was arrested on Wednesday when he was taken from his house by armed police in a widening crackdown after violent anti-government protests.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - The nationwide protests were triggered by President Emmerson Mnangagwa's announcement at the weekend that fuel would more than double in price as the country's economic crisis deepens.
Police had been at Mawarire's property for more than two hours before he was driven away in a pick-up truck.
"Armed police surrounded his residence this morning," Teldah Mawarire, his sister, told AFP. "I was directly in contact with him until he was taken and he could no longer be online. We are very concerned."
Mawarire's lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa told reporters he had been taken to a city centre police station.
"He has been arrested, accused of inciting violence through social media," she told AFP.
Security forces have shot dead at least five people and wounded 25 others during the crackdown since Monday's protests, according to Human Rights Watch.
HRW said security forces responded with live ammunition, rubber bullets and teargas on Monday after protesters burned a police station, barricaded roads and looted shops in Harare, Kadoma and Bulawayo cities.
Zimbabwe's mobile phone networks and internet were shut down for the second day on Wednesday.
Source: AFP
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