Arrest of Citizens Coalition for Change Supporters Stoking Fears of Repression Ahead of Crucial ElectionsSupporters of Zimbabwe's opposition party were seen with their fingers in the air - as they marched to court for a bail hearing. The gesture is a sign of support for their party - Citizens Coalition for Change, or CCC. Twenty-five people – including two members of parliament - were arrested over the weekend for an unlawful gathering with intent to incite public violence. The CCC says tear gas was fired on them by police. Opposition supporters have increasingly faced a wave of politically motivated violence against them in rural Zimbabwe. It comes ahead of the harmonized elections this year, stoking fears of repression. Fadzayi Mahere is a spokeswoman for the CCC. “Almost every province, in fact, every province of the country, we are seeing these escalated incidences of violence. We’ve said, we want elections, we don’t want war. And this does not bode well for a free and fair election.” Zimbabwean law requires political parties to notify authorities two weeks before holding a political meeting. The CCC’s massive urban support is seen as a threat to the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front’s 43-year hold on power.