And the Beat Goes On

Zimbabwean rights campaigner Jestina Mukoko, who is to
appear in court Monday on charges of plotting to overthrow
President Robert Mugabe, is being poisoned and tortured in
custody, the Sunday Independent reported.

According to the paper, Ms Mukoko, who is in solitary
confinement at the notorious Chikurubi Maximum Security
prison, is being force fed drugs by prison personnel.

It said her lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa has called for a
toxicology report to support the allegations.

"Mukoko is psychologically traumatised, it is not
certain that she has told the full story because, every time
she speaks to a doctor or a lawyer, a state official is
present," said Ms Mtetwa.

Ms Mukoko was seized from her home on December 3 by armed
men who identified themselves as police.

Last week she made a first court appearance after being
detained at an unknown location for weeks.

A high court on Friday refused an application by her
lawyers that she be taken to hospital for treatment after
alleged torture.

She is accused together with 28 members of opposition
leader Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) party of recruiting or goading other people to
undergo military training in neighbouring Botswana aimed at
toppling Mugabe's Government.

Ms Mukoko's detention raised particular alarm among
international rights groups and western nations which have
accused Mr Mugabe's Government of intimidation and
harassment.

The rampant human rights abuse cases in Zimbabwe highlight
the country's deepening political crisis more than three
months after Mr Mugabe signed a power-sharing deal with Mr
Tsvangirai.

- AFP