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Harare - Two of at least 30 rights and opposition activists accused of plotting to topple Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe have been released on bail, their lawyer said.
Lawyer Alec Muchadehama told AFP that opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) activist Fidelis Chiramba and Broderick Takawira of the rights watchdog Zimbabwe Peace Project were among eight detainees ordered released on 600 US dollars bail each.
"As part of the bail conditions they were ordered to surrender their passports and surety in the form of title deeds," Muchadehama said.
"Only two met the conditions and were released. The other six have no passports and the prosecution asked that they remain in custody while they establish whether they have passports or not."
The eight are among at least 30 activists taken from their homes by people claiming to be police and detained at undisclosed locations, in some cases for two months.
Some of them were accused of recruiting or goading people to undergo military training in neighbouring Botswana to overthrow long-time ruler Mugabe while seven were accused of bombing police stations and a railway bridge.
Botswana authorities and the MDC have denied the banditry training claims.
The MDC national executive on Friday demanded the release of the activists saying their continued incarceration was a blot on the new power-sharing government.
Mugabe said in a recent interview that the release of the activists was a matter for the courts to decide and that he would consider amnesty after the courts determined the cases.
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