HARARE: Morgan Tsvangirai has appeared in court with a deep head wound and limping, along with dozens of others arrested in a protest against Zimbabwe's government.
Mr Tsvangirai, who heads the Movement for Democratic Change, had a swollen and partly shut eye when he was brought into the Harare court yesterday, said a Reuters correspondent who was present. "He is looking bad … he is quiet and looks listless," the correspondent said.
Several other detainees had to be carried into the court and some sat on the floor. One was wearing a blood-stained shirt and all appeared dirty, dishevelled and tired. Riot police, wielding rubber batons and equipped with teargas, immediately ordered everybody out of the court except the accused and judicial officials and surrounded the building, searching everyone who tried to enter.
"This is being done for people's safety," a senior police officer said, to a chorus of jeers.
Mr Tsvangirai had been taken to court in the back of an open police truck with at least 20 other opposition activists. Some of his hair appeared to have been cut to treat the cut to the top of his head, Agence France-Presse reported.
Lawyers said yesterday that Zimbabwean police had defied a court order granting them access to Mr Tsvangirai and others who were arrested and allegedly tortured while in police custody.
Police seized Mr Tsvangirai and dozens of others on Sunday when they broke up a prayer meeting organised to circumvent a ban on political rallies. One man was killed.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, called on Zimbabwe to investigate."This form of repression and intimidation of a peaceful assembly is unacceptable, and the loss of life makes this even more disturbing," she said.
The Australian Foreign Affairs Minister, Alexander Downer, called on Harare to release those arrested, revoke the ban on political activity and implement political and economic reforms. The rally's suppression was "further evidence of the regime's utter disregard for basic democratic principles" and human rights.
Canberra is being urged to demand that President Robert Mugabe free Sekai Holland, a former Australian citizen arrested during the protests. Mrs Holland, who is married to an Australian, was forced to give up her citizenship when the couple moved back to Zimbabwe in 1981.
