Zimbabwean Opposition Leader Seen In Court

Police brought the No. 2 leader of Zimbabwe's opposition political party to court Saturday, but only after a judge ordered them to do so a second time.

Reporters watched as Tendai Biti, handcuffed and appearing tense, was brought into Justice Ben Hlatshwayo's court. Biti said he was "fine" when reporters asked how he was.

Police have said they will charge Biti, who is secretary general of the Movement for Democratic Change, with treason - a charge that can carry the death penalty.

Party spokesman Nqobizitha Mlilo called the allegation against Biti "politically motivated" on Saturday, less then two weeks before the opposition party's leader faces longtime ruler Robert Mugabe in a presidential runoff.

Mlilo said Biti's lawyers had no opportunity to speak with him Saturday, the first time they have seen him since he was arrested Thursday upon returning to Zimbabwe from neighboring South Africa Thursday. Police had refused to say where he was being held.

Police showed Hlatshwayo an arrest warrant they said a lower court judge had issued earlier this month as justification for holding Biti, Mlilo said. Hlatshwayo said police should bring Biti before the lower court judge Monday and allowed them to return him to jail.

Earlier, police had told Hlatshwayo they were not sure his order to produce Biti, issued in response to an opposition request a day earlier, was genuine, according to opposition lawyer Lewis Uriri. Hlatshwayo then gave police an hour to produce Biti.

Biti's arrest adds to concerns the June 27 runoff will not be free and fair after a campaign that has seen brutal attacks on opposition supporters, arrests of key opposition figures and repeated interruptions of Movement for Democratic Change president Morgan Tsvangirai's attempts to campaign.

On Saturday, the opposition said in a statement that Tsvangirai was again detained by police as he campaigned in rural Zimbabwe. He and 11 others on his campaign team were stopped at a road block and taken to a police station, where they were held for about five hours before being released, Mlilo said.

Police have typically stopped Tsvangirai at roadblocks as he attempted to reach rallies or small meetings with voters, then taken him to stations where he has been held for hours before being released.

"It is clearly impossible to talk about free and fair elections in Zimbabwe and to suggest otherwise is to be clearly blind to the grave harassment, intimidation and violence that the people of Zimbabwe have had to endure over the past few years," the party statement said, calling on Zimbabwe's neighbors to intervene.

Tsvangirai came in first in a field of four in the first round of presidential voting March 29. But, according to the official tally, he did not win the 50 percent plus one vote required to avoid a runoff.

In 2004, Tsvangirai was acquitted after a treason trial that lasted more than a year.

Police said the treason charge Biti faces stems from a transition document they claim was a blueprint for regime change. He is also accused of spreading false information for releasing the opposition's own tally from the first round of elections - under Zimbabwean law, only election officials can release results.

Tsvangirai said the police claims against Biti are "frivolous."

Besides being accused of orchestrating violence, Mugabe's government has in recent weeks been accused of using food as a political weapon. The government ordered independent aid agencies last week to stop work.

Mugabe has accused foreign aid agencies of working with the opposition to topple him, but the effect of the crackdown has been to make millions of hungry Zimbabweans even more dependent on his government, just as they are deciding whether to keep him in power.

U.S. officials said that last week security forces confiscated a large U.S. food donation intended for children and gave it to Mugabe supporters in a country where economic collapse has left many people struggling to feed themselves.

Mugabe, Zimbabwe's head of government since 1980, was lauded early in his rule for campaigning for racial reconciliation and building the economy. But in recent years, he has been accused of ruining the economy and holding onto power through fraud and intimidation.