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Zimbabwe judge denies bail for activists charged with planning coup

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] A Zimbabwe magistrate ruled Wednesday that Zimbabwe Peace Project leader Jestina Mukoko and several others would have to remain in jail until their hearings before the Zimbabwe Supreme Court. Mukoko and the other activists were charged last week with recruiting or attempting to recruit people to undergo military training to overthrow the government of president Robert Mugabe . Following accusations of kidnapping and torture, a High Court judge declared the detention of Mukoko and her codefendants unlawful and ordered that they be taken to a private hospital, but the magistrate held that the state's appeal of that decision prevented their release. The judge also denied bail to five others who have been charged with planting bombs at police stations and on railway tracks. Many of those accused are members of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party, but MDC has denied any involvement in anti-government actions. Mukoko played a key role in monitoring and publicizing the wave of violence that hit the country before and after recent presidential elections and the run-off elections that followed. Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, have been disputing results of March elections for months. They signed a power-sharing agreement in September, under which Mugabe would remain president, Tsvangirai would become prime minister, and each would have two deputies. The agreement, however, has been weakened by ongoing violence and alleged human rights violations, with the MDC estimating that nearly 100 of its members have been killed since March, and more than 100 imprisoned.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on December 31, 2008 (boomark / email).