Update: UPND says Human Rights Watch treats allegations as facts, while Hichilema tells EU observers he will deepen reforms

The UPND has challenged a Human Rights Watch report on Zambia's post-election period, saying the organisation must separate allegations from proven facts. Secretary General Batuke Imenda said the report "presents allegations as established truths without independent verification". He said arresting or investigating opposition figures does not automatically amount to political persecution, and that "political affiliation does not confer immunity from the law". Human Rights Watch issued its statement on 2 November. It documented 14 cases in which authorities allegedly refused to say where detainees were held, 61 cases in which detainees, lawyers or relatives alleged beatings or other violence during arrest or detention, and 71 arrests it said may have been politically motivated. It said 18 people had been charged with treason, two of them also with sedition, and that seven people, including lawyers and a journalist, fled their homes fearing arrest. The organisation said 43 opposition members who were serving as election monitors were detained on 14 August, that their lawyer said their whereabouts were unknown for eight days while police denied holding them, and that a Lusaka court ordered their release on 10 September after a habeas corpus application. The lawyer said some of them had broken bones. The report also says the government has not credibly explained the death of Mutotwe Kafwaya, a former minister. Opposition members allege security forces killed him during the 14 August raid on the Lusaka home of Tonse Alliance leader Brian Mundubile. Inspector General of Police Graphel Musamba has said officers in a joint intelligence-led operation came under gunfire and returned fire; Human Rights Watch said officials gave conflicting accounts. The organisation asked the government to end the crackdown, give detainees access to lawyers and medical care, release anyone arbitrarily held and hold security personnel to account. Separately, President Hichilema met a delegat