A judge revoked the bail of a prominent Zimbabwean rights activist and 17 other suspects after prosecutors formally charged them in a terrorism case that has been widely denounced as a sham.
Activist Jestina Mukoko appeared stunned as she heard the ruling from the dock and stared at Harare Magistrate Catherine Chimanda as her supporters burst into tears. Mukoko and the others have said they were tortured during an earlier stint in prison.
The suspects had been free on bail for two months. Chimanda said on Tuesday she was sending them back to prison because a formal indictment filed on Monday accused Mukoko and the others of sabotage, terrorism and banditry. Their trial was to start on July 4.
Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Miliband said in a statement on Tuesday that the development was “disappointing.”
“The Foreign Secretary has previously said the release of all political detainees is one of the principle conditions for full international re-engagement with Zimbabwe. This remains the case at this crucial time for Zimbabwe,” Miliband said.
Defense lawyer Charles Kwaramba said the suspects would file new bail applications.
“The law is being applied maliciously,” prominent human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa, another defense attorney, told journalists.
In New York, Amnesty International said “the detention of 18 human rights and political activists on false accusations that they plotted to topple the Zimbabwe government casts a shadow over the new government and calls into question its commitment to halt persecutions of political opponents.”
The human rights organization called for the immediate and unconditional release of the activists.
The charges stem from an alleged plot to overthrow Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. Neighboring governments have said they believe the allegations are baseless, and Mugabe opponents say the charges were fabricated to justify a clampdown on dissent.
Otto Saki, a member of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, said Chimanda had refused to allow defense lawyers to call government witnesses they said would testify members of Zimbabwe’s new coalition administration had agreed the trial should not go ahead.
“For the magistrate, overnight, to make a decision to refuse to hear further evidence effectively stifled the defense,” Saki said. “This is a disturbing violation of the fundamental right of an accused person to be heard.”
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