Detentions shake Zimbabwe unity deal

Prominent rights campaigner Jestina Mukoko and 17 others were taken
back into custody Tuesday, just two months after their release on bail
over an alleged plot to overthrow President Robert Mugabe.

The 18 activists, including a 73-year-old man, had been arrested last
year and detained in secret for weeks until they began appearing in
court in late December, many suffering injuries they said they received
in custody.

"Today’s ruling seriously threatens not only the life and health of the
inclusive government, but its longevity and durability," Tsvangirai’s
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said in a statement.

"Today’s ruling is a flagrant disregard to the commitments and
agreements" in the power-sharing deal that led to the formation of the
unity government in February, it said.

Three of the activists are still in hospital recovering from injuries they said they received at the hands of security forces.

The other 15 appeared in court Tuesday for a remand hearing, where a
judge said their bail had been revoked because prosecutors had filed a
formal indictment. Their trials are set to begin from June 4.

"They’ve all been remanded in custody, 18 of them," lawyer Alec
Muchadehama told AFP. The three in hospital would be allowed to stay
there under security watch, he added.

Muchadehama said he would appeal the decision.

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.

She later told a court that authorities had beaten her on the soles of
her feet during interrogations and she flatly denied charges that she
had recruited militants to topple the government.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said the other prisoners were detained under similar circumstances.

Their fate has become a barometer for the success of the unity
government, formed in February nearly a year after disputed elections,
in which Mugabe was eventually forced to share power with Tsvangirai.

The activists were released on bail after the unity government took
office, but their fate has become a major sticking point in Zimbabwe’s
efforts to rally international aid.

Britain’s foreign minister expressed disappointment at the latest development.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband reiterated that the release of all
political detainees was "one of the principle conditions for full
international re-engagement with Zimbabwe" in a statement released
Tuesday.

And Amnesty International condemned the detentions as political and
said their plight cast a "dark shadow" over the country’s unity
government.

"The trial of these human rights activists has all the hallmarks of a
political trial," said Veronique Aubert, deputy director of the
London-based rights organisation’s Africa programme.

"The charges appear to be similar to the charges used during the 2002 treason trial of Morgan Tsvangirai, now prime minister."

Earlier, the MDC had warned: "Today’s ruling slams shut the door of international goodwill.

"It undermines and threatens the goodwill that the inclusive government
had begun to enjoy on the continent and the broader international
community."

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, who are assisting with the case, said the arrests smacked of bad faith.

"It is now clear that the justice delivery system has completely failed
to protect the rights of these political detainees," said lawyer Otto
Saki.

The affair puts fresh strain on the unity government, already mired in
disputes over key appointments such as the central bank governor.

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.

Yahoo/Agence France Presse (AFP)