_WORLD WATCH______________________________
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Prison for prayer
Embattled leader silences protests
A group of Christians who had been arrested for conducting a prayer vigil in Zimbabwe were released on bail after a weekend in jail in February. The incident illustrated the extremes to which President Robert Mugabe was prepared to go in order to squelch political opposition in the weeks prior to national elections.

The Christians were taken into custody after attending a prayer service in the town of Bulawayo, without the permission of the government. The prayer meeting was interpreted as a challenge to the Mugabe government, which had sharply restricted virtually all forms of public political activity prior to the March 9-10 elections.

Mugabe, who has been in power in Zimbabwe since 1980, faced strong popular opposition. But he met that opposition with a series of restrictions, prompting the European Union to impose sanctions on the African country’s government, and to withdraw election observers in protest against the Mugabe government’s blatant effort to influence the results.