Biti released on bail

By Violet Gonda
26 June 07

MDC Secretary General Tendai Biti was granted bail on Thursday, after being held for two weeks on treason charges. His lawyers said bail was set at 1 trillion Zimbabwean dollars (about £14) a day before Zimbabwe’s controversial run-off election. He faces the death penalty if found guilty.

The MDC leader was one of many political detainees in the country. In a statement the MDC said: “At least 2 000 MDC polling agents are in prison on trumped-up charges, some are hiding in the mountains in the rural areas, some are injured and are receiving treatment in hospital, while others have sought refuge in urban areas and neighbouring countries.”

MDC MP, Advocate Eric Matinenga, has been in police custody for a couple of weeks while Jennie Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu, the leaders of the pressure group Women of Zimbabwe Arise, have been in custody for almost a month now.

Meanwhile MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai has urged Robert Mugabe to negotiate before the poll. He warned that negotiations would not be possible if Mugabe goes ahead with the run-off.
Tsvangirai pulled out of the presidential race last Sunday, saying the extreme state sponsored violence had made it impossible to have a free and fair election.

But the ruling party and the electoral commission say the poll is going ahead.