By Bate Felix

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - There are few guarantees upcoming elections in Zimbabwe will be free and fair because of widespread police abuses, a report by the International Bar Association on Wednesday.

The association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) said it found evidence of police torture, intimidation and illegal arrests, which threaten parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for March next year.

"Police officers are responsible for some of the most serious human rights and rule of law violations in Zimbabwe today," the report said.

"The ZRP (Zimbabwe Republic Police) has consistently shown disrespect and contempt for the law, lawyers, and judicial authorities to an extent that it has seriously imperilled the administration of justice and the rule of law in Zimbabwe," the report said.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, 83, in power since 1980, has denied carrying out political violence and human rights abuses against his opponents.

His government has come under increasing international pressure to adopt democratic reforms as the country faces a crippling economic and political crisis.

The ruling ZANU-PF has been in negotiations to resolve the crisis with the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which has accused Mugabe's ZANU-PF of stealing a series of elections since 2002 through intimidation.

The IBAHRI said after interviews with several government officials, legal professionals and non-governmental organisations, it had come across several cases of police torture, arbitrary arrests, disobeying court orders and intimidation.

"If this is what is occurring at the level of the administration of justice, then everything bodes poorly for the forthcoming 2008 elections," said advocate Andrea Gabriel, member of a team that visited Zimbabwe in August.

The report called on Harare to establish an independent system of monitoring the police and urged leaders of the regional Southern African Development Community (SADC) political bloc to address police abuse as part efforts to resolve the crisis in Zimbabwe.

Professor Danny Titus, deputy dean of the law college at the University of South Africa and member of the fact-finding team, said their findings raised concerns that police officers will be used to subvert the electoral process.

"Without accountable, impartial policing that protects human rights, it will be difficult and perhaps impossible for the citizens of Zimbabwe to participate freely in any democratic process, including elections," he said.