Senior Zimbabwean opposition figure Tendai Biti has been charged with inciting public violence and declaring unofficial election results as fears grow about a government crackdown following Zimbabwe's disputed election.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The court appearance on Thursday followed dramatic events in which Biti fled to Zambia, was denied asylum and was handed over to Zimbabwean security forces in defiance of a Zambian court order.
"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. The charge of declaring unofficial election results carries a maximum six-month sentence.
He was granted $US5000 ($A6800) bail but must surrender his passport, report to authorities twice a day and not address any 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 before despite promises of reforms.
The opposition is preparing a legal challenge to the election results, calling them fraudulent.
A letter from Biti's lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa to Zimbabwean police alleged that they and military police "unlawfully abducted" Biti from Zambia and "maliciously damaged" the tyres of a legal practitioner trying to follow their unmarked vehicles back to Harare.
The letter, seen by The Associated Press, said Biti should be immediately returned to Zambian immigration authorities, and "due to the traditional torture that abductees are generally subjected to in Zimbabwe" it called for a medical team to look over Biti before then.
Zambian border guards handed Biti to Zimbabwean authorities despite the 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 United Nations refugee agency said it was "gravely concerned" about the reports of Biti's forced return to Zimbabwe, calling such returns a serious violation of international law.
A joint statement by the heads of missions in Zimbabwe of the European Union, the United States, Canada and Australia urgently called on Zimbabwean authorities to guarantee Biti's safety and respect his rights. It said diplomats were "deeply disturbed" by reports of security forces targeting the opposition.
Australian Associated Press