A/HRC/44/50/Add.2 52. The Government deployed police and military units in cities and residential areas around the country. According to multiple accounts relayed to the Special Rapporteur, the security forces used excessive force, which included indiscriminate beatings, arrests, torture and other forms of ill-treatment. 53. The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission issued a monitoring report 16 in the aftermath of the stay-away, in which it concluded that at least eight persons had been killed and many others had sustained multiple injuries as a result of the use of indiscriminate and excessive use of force, including the firing of live ammunition. The Special Rapporteur also received information to indicate that the disproportionate response by the security forces could have resulted in at least 17 killings, including 14 men and 3 women, with more than 300 people treated for serious injuries, including 70 for gunshot wounds. He was also informed that one police officer in Bulawayo had died as a result of the violence during these events. 54. The findings of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission revealed that armed and uniformed members of the Zimbabwe National Army and the Zimbabwe Republic Police had instigated systematic torture, targeting individuals near areas where barricades had been placed and near areas that had been torched or looted by protestors. The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission also verified reports of massive door-to-door searches and unlawful entry into private homes, particularly from councillors and Members of Parliament representing the Movement for Democratic Change and the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, as well as leaders of targeted civil society organizations who were even abducted from or arrested at their homes. 55. The Special Rapporteur also received reports of mass and widespread arbitrary arrests, recording at least 843 detentions in the aftermath of the protests and a total of 1,055 persons being tried by the courts countrywide in charges related to the protests. A large number of those arrested were not involved in the protests, while others were targeted because of their political affiliation or for their dissenting views or activism, including trade union leaders. Also, he received reports that only 48 adults were granted bail, while 995 were denied bail or did not have access to a lawyer. 56. During the stay-away, the Special Rapporteur was dismayed to hear allegations of politically motivated sexual violence through the testimonies of some women who reported having been raped by presumed military and police elements. From the reports received, at least 17 cases have been documented in Harare. The survivors explained that, considering the trauma, the environment of fear and the lack of trust in the police system, they were reluctant to make formal complaints to the police. The Special Rapporteur raised these grave concerns with the authorities who indicated that they were aware of the reports but unable to take action in view of the lack of formal complaints. The Special Rapporteur believes that it is the responsibility of the State to create an environment that empowers victims to come out and speak without fear of societal judgment and reprisals, with the aim of ensuring proper investigation and accountability. 57. Restrictions on access to Internet services were also reported during the protests. On 15 January 2019, the Government instructed the main service providers to shut down the Internet, pursuant to the Interception of Communications Act, in an attempt to supress information-sharing among protesters and control the situation. Telephone communications were also affected with limited connectivity in major areas. Although Internet services were reinstated intermittently, social media platforms that are widely used by the population, such as Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp, remained blocked for longer. 58. The Government’s directive to suppress Internet services was challenged in the High Court, which ruled that the order to suspend the Internet was illegal as the Minister of State for National Security did not have the authority to issue any such directive based on the Interception of Communications Act. The Court’s decision led to the unblocking of all Internet services by telecommunications companies on the same day. The Special 16 See www.zhrc.org.zw/monitoring-report-in-the-aftermath-of-the-14-january-to-16-january-2019-stayaway-and-subsequent-disturbances. 9