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The Patriot Bill, if enacted, will impose heavy jail terms on those convicted, but critics say it will be used to silence dissent.
Flag of Zimbabwe. Image: Supplied.
HARARE – The government of Zimbabwe wants to introduce a new law to make it a criminal offense for citizens to hold meetings with foreign governments without state approval.
The Patriot Bill, if enacted, will impose heavy jail terms on those convicted, but critics say it will be used to silence dissent.
The top parliamentary affairs ministry official, Virginia Mabhiza, told the state-run Sunday Mail that parts of the new bill have been drafted and will be presented to Cabinet. She says that private citizens should not meet with foreign governments.
Some will read that as a reference to when Tendai Biti of the MDC Alliance and Dewa Mavhinga of Human Rights Watch appeared before the U.S. Senate foreign relations committee shortly after Robert Mugabe’s impeachment in 2017.
With the opposition threatened by infighting and the ruling party under strong international criticism, the MDC Alliance says the proposed new law will threaten Zimbabwe’s already fragile democratic space.
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