On 13 September 2006, the Zimbabwean Police arrested and assaulted hundreds of trades unionists, following peaceful protests by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trades Unions (ZCTU) over the state of the economy and food shortages.

This is what happens when you defy the Zimbabwe Government

THE beating stopped as the sun began to go down. After two-and-a-half hours, the fourteen men and one woman held at Matapi police station in Mbare township, Harare, had suffered five fractured arms, seven hand fractures, two sets of ruptured eardrums, fifteen cases of severe buttock injuries, deep soft-tissue bruising all over, and open lacerations. “As a case of police brutality on a group, it is the worst I’ve ever seen,” a doctor who helped to attend to them said.

Read the full article at The Times

The arrested union activists and officials were held in detention for days without access to medical attention or legal representatives. They were also subject to brutal assaults by the police. Wellington Chibebe (ZCTU General Secretary) and several other union leaders sustained such serious injuries that have been hospitalised after the beating they received.

Last week's brutal crackdown is the latest in a series of attacks on trade unionists and human rights activists by the police, who routinely disrupt trade union activities. The ZCTU, which plays a pivotal role in organising civic opposition to President Mugabe's mismanagement of the economy and repression of human rights, has become the prime target of the Government's onslaught.

The arrested trades unionists released on bail last week must appear in court on 3 October 2006, facing criminal charges. The TUC demands that all charges against them be dropped and that trades unionists in Zimbabwe should be allowed to exercise their democratic rights without interference from the state.

Please help us raise the profile of these abuses of workers' human rights by joining us in a protest at 1pm on Friday 22 September 2006 in front of the Embassy of the Republic of Zimbabwe, 429, The Strand, London WC2R 0JR (you can print out a map here).

Let 's stand in solidarity with the ZCTU and the people of Zimbabwe in their hour of need.

Also, if you would like to make a financial contribution, you can do so through TUC Aid's Zimbabwe Appeal.