[JURIST] Human rights violations in Zimbabwe have steadily increased with more than 5,300 recorded cases of human rights abuses during the first six months of 2007, according to the Zimbabwe Human Rights Forum [official website]. In a report [text] published last week, the group documented 328 instances of torture, 481 assaults, 802 cases of illegal arrests and detention, and 935 cases of politically related abuses by government authorities or militants supporting Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe [BBC profile]. The group, which also recorded 13 abductions, four death threats, and 1,937 recorded violations against freedoms of expression and movement, said that it "deplores the use of torture by the State to punish opposition and also to solicit confessions," adding that the practice is "contrary to international human rights instruments to which Zimbabwe is a party."

The group urged authorities to "respect and protect the rights and freedoms of its citizenry regardless of political persuasion or affiliation." AP has more. ZimOnline has local coverage.