ZIMBABWE'S Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is said to be fighting for his life after he was injured in police custody following his arrest in Harare. Police detained Mr Tsvangirai, the leader of the Democratic Movement for Change (MDC) and dozens of other opposition figures while breaking up a prayer meeting organised in defiance of a ban on political rallies. One man died in the police action, and rights groups alleged Mr Tsvangirai and other politicians had been tortured. "President Tsvangirai is battling for his life at Borrowdale police station after he was brutally assaulted. He lost consciousness three times following the ... attack," said MDC vice president Thokozani Khupe.She said the party wanted all detainees freed immediately and pledged that the struggle against Mr Mugabe would continue. A Tsvangirai lawyer said the High Court had ordered police to provide access to the head of the MDC and the other detainees. "A provisional order was issued that we have access to our clients, that they should be taken to hospital where necessary and that they should be taken to court by 12pm tomorrow (Harare time), failure of which they should be released," said Alec Muchadehama.
Under Zimbabwe's laws, police can detain suspects for up to 48 hours before taking them to court. Earlier, a Tsvangirai lawyer, Innocent Chagonda, visited the MDC leader and said he was in bad shape. "He was swollen very badly. He was bandaged on the head. You couldn't distinguish between the head and the face and he could not see properly."
Political tensions, which have been brewing over the soaring cost of living and Mr Mugabe's controversial rule, erupted when riot squads fought opposition youths in the capital for the second time in a month. Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena accused Mr Tsvangirai and others of inciting violence. He said a police patrol killed one man after being attacked by a mob of "MDC thugs". Three police officers were badly injured when MDC supporters attacked a patrol using children as human shields, he said.
Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi told state television the Government was determined to uphold the law. "We are warning all those who assault police officers whether with stones or sticks or with their hands that they will be arrested regardless of their social status or body size,'' he said. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern about the detention, echoing international condemnation against the Zimbabwean Government over rights abuses.
More, from the London Times...
The leader of ZimbabweÂ’s main opposition party needed hospital treatment for severe head injuries after police beat him following his arrest at a prayer rally on Sunday, his party said. Morgan Tsvangirai required surgery to his wounds at Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare early yesterday, said an official from his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
The MDC leader was arrested in the impoverished township of Highfields where he had gone to attend a prayer rally. Dozens of opposition officials, rights activists and churchmen were also detained. Eliphas Mukonoweshuro, a party spokesman, said that Mr TsvangiraiÂ’s wife, Susan, had been allowed to take her husband food yesterday after he was returned to police cells.