Zimbabwean police hold activists despite High Court release order

Dec 27, 2008, 10:19 GMT

Harare - Police were holding 32 activists accused of plotting to overthrow President Robert Mugabe despite a High Court order to release them, the state-owned Herald newspaper reported Saturday.

Police chief spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena was quoted by the Herald as saying the activists would remain in custody until an appeal by the attorney general's office was heard by the Supreme Court.

'We have been advised by the attorney general's office that they have noted an appeal against the High Court order issued on Wednesday.

'We are still holding them in custody until the appeal is heard,' the Herald quotes Bvudzijena as saying, noting that the appeal had the effect of suspending a High Court order to release the accused issued on Wednesday, which was Christmas Eve.

But Irene Petras, one of the lawyers for the activists, dismissed Bvudzijena's claims.

'We still maintain that the police is in contempt of court. I saw the purported appeal and it is defective for a number of reasons, including that it has not yet been filed with the Supreme Court. It was only served to the High Court,' Petras told Deutsche Presse- Agentur dpa.

'The police is trying to mislead everyone about (the appeal).'

Late Wednesday, High Court judge Yunus Omerjee ordered the immediate release of the suspects facing charges of recruiting people to undergo military training in Botswana for the purposes of removing Mugabe from power.

It could not be ascertained from the attorney general's office when the appeal was made, since Omerjee's ruling was made ahead of the Christmas holiday.

Beatrice Mtetwa, another one of the lawyers, told journalists on Wednesday that some of the detainees were tortured during their incarceration and were supposed to have been released to a private hospital after Omerjee's ruling.