ZIM ACTIVISTS GRANTED BAIL

Harare - Eighteen Zimbabwean activists, including leading human rights campaigner Jestina Mukoko, were granted bail on Wednesday, one day after their detention over an alleged plot against President Robert Mugabe.

The arrests drew a sharp rebuke from Mugabe's partner in a still-fragile unity government, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change, who warned their case threatened the power-sharing pact's survival.

Magistrate Catherine Chimhanda approved a bail agreement reached by prosecutors and the defence, and court officials were processing paperwork for their release, which could happen later on Wednesday.

The activists were arrested last year on charges of scheming to overthrow Zimbabwe's long-time leader Mugabe, but were released on bail two months ago after the formation of a unity government.

They were taken back into custody on Tuesday after they were formally indicted, but Chimhanda said their earlier bail arrangement should still apply.

Undo the little progress

Mukoko is accused of recruiting people for terror training in Botswana - a claim rejected by Botswana as well as the MDC.

After their arrests last year, the activists - including a 73-year-old man - were detained in secret for weeks until they began appearing in court in late December, many suffering injuries they said they received in custody.

Three of them are still in hospital, now under guard, receiving treatment for their injuries.
Mukoko is the head of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, which documented human rights abuses surrounding last year's controversial elections.

She was taken from her home on December 3 by a dozen armed men who claimed to be police, according to fellow activists, and was not seen again until she appeared in court three weeks later.

Finance Minister Tendai Biti, a top MDC official, told reporters that the decision to detain the activists threatened to unravel the progress made since the unity government took office in February.

"The decision to re-arrest is a political decision to undo the little progress of this government. These people must be released, not now, not tomorrow, but yesterday," Biti said.

Outrageous charges

The government was already mired in disputes over key appointments such as the central bank governor, the attorney general and ambassadors.

The MDC says seven of its members are still missing after security agents seized them in November and December. And Mugabe has refused to swear-in the party's choice as deputy agriculture minister, who was detained in February for a month on terror charges.

The detentions drew international concern from former colonial power Britain and the United States. Western donors have demanded the release of all political prisoners before considering aid for the cash-strapped government, which is seeking $8.5bn dollars to revive the devastated economy.

Rights groups also warned the detentions showed that Mugabe's ZANU-PF party was undermining the power-sharing pact. "Those who brought these outrageous charges should quickly drop them," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch.

"This continued persecution makes it pretty clear that ZANU-PF is trying to undermine the new power-sharing administration and is an example of Zimbabwe's overall lack of progress in respecting the rule of law and basic rights," she said in a statement.
- AFP