{Human Rights Watch has urged Zimbabwe’s authorities to release information on the whereabouts of a prominent pro-democracy activist it fears has been “forcibly disappeared”. } <\/p>\n
Itai Dzamara has not been seen since he was abducted by five men in the capital, Harare, on 9 March. <\/p>\n
Officials have denied any state agents were involved in his abduction.<\/p>\n
Mr Dzamara is a vocal opponent of President Robert Mugabe, and has staged sit-ins demanding his resignation. <\/p>\n
Family members have told Human Rights Watch (HRW) that state security agents threatened something would happen if he continued his activism, the US-based rights group said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The former journalist and opposition activist was hospitalised in 2014 after reportedly being beaten by police during a peaceful demonstration.<\/p>\n
Two days before his abduction, HRW says Mr Dzamara addressed an opposition rally calling for mass protests against worsening repression and economic conditions in Zimbabwe. <\/p>\n
Zimbabwe’s High Court in March ordered police and the state intelligence agency to actively search for the 36-year-old activist, after an appeal from his wife.<\/p>\n
“Zimbabwe authorities appear to be doing nothing to find Itai Dzamara, increasing concerns about his safety,” HRW researcher Dewa Mavhinga said.<\/p>\n
“The threats against Dzamara by state security agents are a red flag for Zimbabwe’s international allies to press the government to come clean about what happened to him.” <\/p>\n
Mr Mugabe, 91, and his Zanu-PF party have been in power in Zimbabwe since independence in 1980.<\/p>\n
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