Mugabe opponent faces court on terrorism charges

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai appeared at the High Court in Harare, Zimbabwe, today on terrorism charges.

His lawyers immediately demanded the case be sent to the Supreme Court.

The charges against Tsvangirai carry a maximum penalty of a life in prison. If convicted, he could be disqualified from running against Robert Mugabe for president in elections that must be held by early next year.

According to court documents, the state case hinges on Tsvangirai’s remark at a September 30 opposition rally that prosecutors say incited terrorism against Mugabe and the government.

Tsvangirai warned Mugabe that if he did not step down peacefully ‘‘we will remove you violently’’.

But Chris Andersen, Tsvangirai’s lawyer, asked Judge Moses Chinhengo to refer the case to the nation’s highest court on the grounds that the outdated Law and Order Maintenance Act was too sweeping and carried severe penalties that were not warranted.

It violated rights to freely express political views that were not themselves acts of terrorism.

State prosecutor Nathaniel Sibanda said the law interpreted ‘‘an utterance as an action’’ intended to created violence and terror.

‘‘The charges are directed at mischief of the highest order, which is calling for the violent removal of a lawfully elected president in a democratic state,’’ he said.

He said the request for a constitutional hearing was ‘‘frivolous and vexatious’’ and accused Tsvangirai of seeking the Supreme Court hearing to delay his trial.

Chinhengo said he would rule later in the afternoon on whether to continue with the trial in the High Court.

Several hundred opposition supporters cheered Tsvangirai as he arrived at the Harare High Court.

A cordon of armed riot police prevented supporters from thronging the courthouse gates after an opposition lawmaker was barred entry, reportedly for not carrying his identity papers.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change has described the trial as part of a witch hunt against it leaders.

Tsvangirai is charged under draconian security laws in force since the colonial era in 1960 and repeatedly used by the government after independence in 1980.