Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party says police will now release activists

Harare, Zimbabwe — Human rights organizations reacted angrily Tuesday after Zimbabwe's ruling party acknowledged that more than 100 activists were detained to keep them from protesting during a Southern Africa Development Community summit held over the past weekend. Authorities said they will start to release those who were detained now that the meeting is over. Speaking with journalists in Harare, ruling ZANU-PF spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa defended detaining the activists. “Those are deviants, and they were dealt with properly.