Zimbabwean opposition figure charged
agency quickly expressed concern.
“We will keep on fighting,” Biti said as he arrived at court in the capital, Harare. The charge of inciting public violence could bring up to a decade in prison, while the charge of declaring unofficial election results carries a maximum six-month sentence. He was granted $5,000 bail but must surrender his passport, report to authorities twice a day and not speak at political rallies.
Biti’s plight has raised concerns that the government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who narrowly won the first election after the fall of Robert Mugabe, will treat the opposition just as harshly as the previous government did despite promises of reforms. The opposition says it is preparing a legal challenge to the election results, calling them fraudulent.
Shortly after Biti’s hearing, Mnangagwa said he had been released. In posts on Twitter, the president said the case would continue “due to the serious nature of the allegations.”
In a letter to Zimbabwean police, Biti’s lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa alleged that they and military police “unlawfully abducted” Biti from Zambia and “maliciously damaged” the tires of a legal practitioner trying to follow their unmarked vehicles.
Zambian border guards handed Biti over despite a court order saying he should not be deported until his appeal for asylum was heard, Zambian lawyer Gilbert Phiri told the AP. Zambia’s foreign minister said Biti’s reasons for seeking asylum “did not have merit.”
The U.N. refugee agency said it was “gravely concerned” about the reports of Biti’s forced return to Zimbabwe, calling such actions a serious violation of international law.