Zimbabwe protest leader freed as case dismissed

The pastor leading Zimbabwe's new protest movement walked free from court Wednesday after charges against him of attempting to overthrow President Robert Mugabe's authoritarian government were thrown out.

Evan Mawarire briefly thanked several hundred cheering supporters who had rallied throughout the day outside Harare magistrates' court, singing and praying for his release.

"He was not advised of the subversion charges before he was brought to court," his lawyer Harrison Nkomo told reporters, confirming the case had been dismissed.

"He was not properly brought before the court -- that's why the magistrate refused remand."

Mawarire, who started the popular ThisFlag internet campaign in April, was an organiser of a one-day nationwide strike last week that closed offices, shops, schools and some government departments.

He appeared in court on Wednesday, with the national flag tied around his neck, to face allegations of running a campaign aimed at "overthrowing or attempting to overthrow the government by unconstitutional means."

A recent series of demonstrations, the largest in years, have been driven by an economic crisis in Zimbabwe that has left banks short of cash and the government struggling to pay its workers.

Mugabe, 92 and increasingly frail, has previously used his ruthless security forces to crack down on any public show of dissent, and riot police were on duty outside the court.

The surge in protests has revealed long-simmering frustration in a country where 90 percent of the population is not in formal employment.

"The government should address the issues that citizens like Mawarire are raising instead of arresting innocent people," Monica Chirisa, one of those who celebrated his release outside the court, told AFP.

Protest organisers had appealed for Zimbabweans to hold another strike starting on Wednesday, but their calls were largely unsuccessful with businesses and schools open as usual.

- 'Vocal and fearless' -

"They made sure that they arrested the people who are most vocal and fearless -- that is why the response is not as good as it was last week," Onias Marongwa, who works in a grocery store, told AFP.

Mawarire was brought into court through a back entrance, as scores of lawyers from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights group offered to represent him.

"The arrest of Pastor Evan Mawarire appears to be a well-calculated plan to intimidate him and other activists," Muleya Mwananyanda of Amnesty International said in a statement before his release.

Amnesty said about 300 people had been arrested for participating in protests around the country since they started last week.

Mugabe, who has named no successor, has overseen years of economic decline, allegedly rigged elections and mass emigration since he came to power in 1980.

Last week security forces used tear gas and water cannon to disperse violent protests outside Harare that erupted over police officers allegedly using road blocks to extort cash from motorists.

Television footage showed police beating protesters with sticks.

Other protests have erupted at the border with South Africa over a ban on imports such as canned vegetables, powdered milk and cooking oil.

On Tuesday, Home Affairs Minister Ignatius Chombo held a press conference to warn that anyone who took part in Wednesday's planned strike would face "the full wrath of the law".

Many civil servants have been paid their delayed June salaries since last week.

In the southeastern town of Masvingo, most shops and offices were open despite the planned strike.

"The regime's machinery is very visible," Takafira Zhou, leader of the Progressive Teachers' Union in the town, told AFP.

"Today's response to the strike is low as some people who took part last week had their salaries forfeited and they fear the worst if they are seen to be defiant."

Source: AFP