Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has signed a bill into law that imposes penalties on Zimbabweans who are found to have wilfully harmed the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe.

The controversial patriotic bill faced widespread opposition from lawyers and activists describing it as a grave assault on human rights.

It comes weeks before a crucial general election which the opposition believe will not be free or fair.

The law imposes sentences ranging from fines to the death penalty for those who take part in meetings which encourage international military action or trade boycotts.

President Mnangagwa and much of his inner circle are under US economic and travel sanctions which they say were a result of the opposition's lobbying.

Legal analysts believe the new patriotic law is vague and therefore open to abuse.
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