Man Arrested Over ‘Inciting’ Facebook Comment

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Be careful what you post: A man from Zimbabwe was arrested for a comment he posted on Facebook. The offending remark?

I am overwhelmed, I don’t want to say Mr. or PM what happened in Egypt is sending shockwaves to dictators around the world. No weapon but unity of purpose worth emulating, hey.

Unfortunately Vikas Mavhudzi posted it on Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Facebook page on February 13 around 2PM. An anonymous source tipped the government off on February 24 that Mavhudzi had sent a threatening message from his cell phone. He was arrested, after which the police searched through his messages and found the comment in question.

I think you can agree that the remark was hardly a threat, but the Zimbabwean government, led by the notorious Robert Mugabe, has a history of  being exceptionally harsh on dissenters. It’s a crime to say anything negative against the government. Mavhudzi was accused of “advocating or attempting to take-over government by unconstitutional means,” and he was denied bail. He is to remain in custody at least until today.

[via SW Radio Africa]

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