of media freedom and freedom of expression, which have over the years proven to be the conduit through which other rights are enjoyed. Crimes against journalists spiked during the pre-election campaign and post-election period. It is regrettable that State organs and political parties were the perpetrators of the majority of the violations recorded by MISA Zimbabwe. Some of these crimes were of a grave nature and involved the injury of journalists as witnessed when some journalists were assaulted while covering demonstrations that broke out in Harare on 1 August 2018. The perpetrators of these acts of violence had not been arrested at the time of publication of this report. While Zimbabwe may not have recorded the killing of any journalists while on duty, impunity for crimes against journalists still goes beyond murders and assassinations. Journalists face retribution for their work that sometimes uncovers public scandals, acts of corruption and general misgovernance. A recent example of the dangers journalists live with is the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khasshogi in October 2018 at the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Turkey. It is believed that Khasshogi was assassinated for his criticism of the Saudi government. Unfortunately, his death is not an isolated incident as the United Nations estimates that globally, 88 journalists were killed for their work between January and October 2018. While some of the violations or crimes against journalists, may appear to be minor infractions, they are nonetheless still crimes and for that reason, must be investigated, and where appropriate, prosecuted accordingly. The State has a constitutional duty to promote and protect fundamental rights enshrined in Zimbabwe’s Constitution. These rights include the right to access information, free expression and media freedoms in general. The State through its various arms and agencies also has a responsibility to investigate allegations of crimes against journalists and to ensure that such crimes are duly prosecuted.