Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Activists to go back to jail

From AlJazeera

A Zimbabwe court has revoked the bail of 18 political activists facing charges of "terrorism", ordering them to return to prison in a trial that has been widely denounced as a sham.

The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the party headed by Morgan Tsvangirai, the prime minister, warned the move could endanger the country's fledgling unity government.

"Today's ruling seriously threatens not only the life and health of the inclusive government, but its longevity and durability," the MDC said in a statement.

The activists were arrested last year and say they were abducted from their homes by state security agents and tortured into confessing to being party to a plan to remove Robert Mugabe, the president, from power.

The group, which includes Jestina Mukoko, a leading human rights activist, and several MDC members, were granted bail in March with the consent of state prosecutors.

The 18 have now been indicted for a trial which starts next month.

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