Zimbabwe court releases two more rights activists

AFP  |  Harare 

Two Zimbabwean rights campaigners arrested last month and charged with were released on on Monday, lawyers said.

Justice ordered the release of and Stabile Dhewa, who were charged with "subverting a constitutional government", Zimbabwe Lawyers for told AFP.

"We welcome the court's decision in releasing the human rights campaigners. They did not deserve to have been in prison in the first place," he said.

Mafunda said they were released on $1,000 each and that the court imposed "onerous conditions" on the activists, including having to report to a police station every day.

Their five co-accused were released on on Friday.

Their arrests came after ran a story saying that "a group of shady organisations with links to the (main opposition) MDC-Alliance has been hard at work laying the groundwork for civil unrest".

Police say the activists attended a workshop in the conducted by a non-profit Serbian organisation, the (CANVAS).

After protests in January triggered by a doubling of fuel prices, Mnangagwa warned that the authorities would target rights groups deemed to be anti-government.

The authorities blamed the protests on the and non-governmental organisations that they said were backed by Western nations.

and army have often used brutal force, including the use of live ammunition, to crush dissent.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Mon, June 10 2019. 17:20 IST