ZIMBABWE:Zimbabwe's High Court yesterday ordered police to release an opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) member of parliament, who was arrested on Saturday for the second time in a week.
Eric Matinenga was initially arrested on June 1st on charges of inciting public violence in his constituency, but was released on Thursday after a magistrate dropped the charges and said he had been wrongly charged.
He was detained for a second time on Saturday morning.
Matinenga's arrests come amid accusations by the opposition that President Robert Mugabe's government is trying to sabotage MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai's campaign ahead of a June 27th run-off presidential election.
The second round vote follows a disputed March poll which showed Tsvangirai beat Mugabe, but not by enough votes to avoid a run-off.
"The MDC welcomes the judgment as the only logical thing to do as Advocate Matinenga is a fine son of Zimbabwe, whose quest for the freedom of the people of Zimbabwe is unquestionable," the party said in a statement.
Six MDC lawmakers have been arrested for various offences since the March 29th poll.
The opposition say Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party is trying to rig the election by intimidating voters and thwarting opposition campaign efforts.
Meanwhile, opposition officials accused ruling party militants of preventing the Movement for Democratic Change from holding a rally yesterday, after a court lifted a ban on rallies.
- (Reuters)