Zimbabwe opposition leader denies treason

Zimbabwe’s opposition leader appeared in court today and denied two charges of treason against him.

Morgan Tsvangirai spent the weekend in jail after allegedly inciting the population to rise up in illegal demonstrations demanding the end of President Robert Mugabe’s rule.

The former trade union leader was already facing a possible death penalty on earlier treason charges: he is accused of trying to arrange Mugabe’s assassination, but says he was framed by the government.

Tsvangirai and his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) have become increasingly vocal in their calls for Zimbabweans to take action against Mugabe’s repressive regime.

He was arrested at his home in the capital Harare after a five days of anti-government strikes and protests organised by his party.

The strikes shut down most of the economy in the impoverished southern African nation and triggered a massive crackdown by security forces which crushed street marches before they could begin.

The new treason charges centre around two recent political rallies where the state claims Tsvangirai urged supporters to take to the streets to oust Mugabe and the Zimbabwean government.

Tsvangirai’s lawyer George Bizos said the latest allegations were “spurious” and were meant to keep Tsvangirai in custody in the wake of last week’s opposition protests.

“The charges are to prevent him from exercising his rights as a politician and leader of the opposition,” he said.

Tsvangirai, appeared in a crumpled brown suit, the same suit he has worn since his arrest.

Bizos asked Judge Paddington Garwe to free the opposition leader on bail in order to allow his trial on the assassination plot to continue unheeded.

State attorney Bharat Patel, however, argued that the new allegations were “entirely separate” and said they should be dealt with first by the magistrate court.

Bizos said that although the government declared last week’s strikes illegal, rights of free association and movement under the constitution made it lawful to stay away from work.

“We will show this was not an arrest made in good faith, that there was no surreptitious conduct by the accused and that an attempt was made to silence him,” he said.

Bizos said that repeated threats have been made against Tsvangirai by ruling party leaders.

He said the two treason allegations were “intertwined” and asked Garwe not to allow what he described as government sideshows.

Shortly before he was arrested, Tsvangirai acknowledged the unprecedented security crackdown had thwarted huge street demonstrations the opposition movement had planned for Friday to cap the week of mass action.

Government forces resorted to beating protesters, firing warning shots in the air and opening fire with water cannon and tear gas to break up demonstrations.

But the strikes were still viewed as the biggest opposition challenge yet to Mugabe’s 23-year increasingly dictatorial rule.

The opposition blames Mugabe for sinking the country into political and economic ruin. There are acute shortages of food, medicine, fuel, and currency, and annual inflation is at 269%. Unemployment has reached a record 70% and widespread starvation has been avoided only with international aid.