Biti’s lawyers said in an application filed on Tuesday that a July ruling by Magistrate Mishrod Guvamombe placing their client on remand was irrational and grossly unreasonable and should be set aside.
In a short ruling Guvamombe said that there was reasonable suspicion that Biti committed treason and two other offences the opposition leader is being charged with, adding that any evidence to the contrary should be put before the trial court.
However, the defence charges that the magistrate did not adequately apply his mind in making his ruling. For example, defence lawyers noted that the documents that the state is relying on in its case against Biti were plainly inadmissible in court.
The defence also questions the fact that investigating officers were not called to court to clarify certain pertinent issues raised during Biti’s earlier application to be removed from remand.
On the basis of these compelling examples, applicant (Biti) respectfully contends that decision . . . be set aside, Biti’s lawyers said in the application that is yet to be set down for hearing.
President Robert Mugabe’s government has charged Biti with treason over a controversial document that it says was authored by the MDC politician and which outlines plans to seize power through unconstitutional means.
The state also alleges that Biti broke the law when he announced that MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai had won the March presidential election by an outright majority, when official results later showed Tsvangirai in the lead but shy of the outright majority of 50 percent-plus-one votes.
Biti faces the death penalty if convicted of treason but the MDC secretary general denies breaking the law and has dismissed the charges against him as false and based on a fake document written by the government’s spy Central Intelligence Organisation.
Biti, who is out on bail, is the MDC’s chief representative in power-sharing negotiations with the ruling ZANU PF party that have however stalled over who between Mugabe and Tsvangirai should lead a government of national unity. – ZimOnline