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Zimbabwe court orders bail for rights activist Mukoko

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

[JURIST] A court in Zimbabwe on Wednesday released on bail 15 human rights activists, including activist and journalist Jestina Mukoko, who had been ordered back into custody Tuesday. Mukoko is the director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP). The indicted activists were accused of planning a coup against President Robert Mugabe, but were released on bail in March after three months of detention by presidential authorization. However, the court in Harare found Tuesday that under the Zimbabwe Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act, the grant of bail is automatically reversed and the activists must remain in custody until their trial in June. The activists were released Wednesday after the judge reversed her Tuesday ruling on the orders of Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. Three other activists ordered into custody Tuesday were denied bail. The indictment highlights the tension between Mugabe and Tsvangirai as well as the human rights situation in Zimbabwe. Mukoko was held without charges from December through March and was allegedly subjected to torture. Mukoko was hospitalized for the treatment of injuries sustained during her detention and remained under medical care after her release from police custody. While in prison, it was reported that Mukoko was forced to ingest poison, an allegation that has sparked a world-wide protest against Zimbabwean police methods. During her detention, Mukoko was denied bail by Zimbabwean lower courts, but another court ruled that Mukoko could appeal her detention to the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe under the Zimbabwe Constitution.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on May 06, 2009 (boomark / email).