Zimbabwe

Breakaway MDC leader arrested

Article published on the 2008-06-01 Latest update 2008-06-01 14:47 TU

Police in a pro-MDC area last month
(Photo: AFP)

Zimbabwean police arrested Arthur Mutambara, the leader of a breakaway faction of Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), for criticising President Robert Mugabe in print. Mutambara now the most senior opposition leader to be jailed.

Mutambara's lawyer, Harrison Nkomo, said Mutambara was arrested for "publishing falsehoods and for contempt of court" for an opinion article he wrote in April.

The article in the country's only independent Sunday paper, The Standard, accused Mugabe of running down the economy and said that the security forces were guilty of abuses.

The paper's editor was arrested last month over the same piece and is now out on bail. Nkomo said that his client should have the same rights.

"On the doctrine of equality of treatment of citizens, if your co-accused is granted bail, it naturally should follow that you be granted bail," he told RFI.

Mutambara split from the MDC in 2005 in a dispute over whether the party should contest Senate elections. But after his group fared badly in parliamentary elections this March, he agreed to join forces in parliament with MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

Three MDC MPs have been arrested in the last month amid mounting violence in the approach to the second round of the presidential election set for 27 June.