Harare/Johannesburg - A Zimbabwe court has deferred the initial custody hearing for jailed human rights activist Jestina Mukoko and extended the detention of activists from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) due to the defendants' health. The hearing for Mukoko and two other activists arrested for crimes against the state is to take place Tuesday, while seven others were to remain in custody until Wednesday, when further hearings are to take place.
The trial of Jestina Mukoko and two others could not proceed Monday because defence lawyers applied for the release of their clients to a local hospital for treatment.
The state had also applied for time to review the defence chamber application.
Magistrate Olivia Mariga will decide on Tuesday whether to place six other activists into initial custody or release them, following the state's failure to appeal against a high court order for their release.
The 54-year-old head of a group called Zimbabwe Peace Project, Mukoko was abducted from her home in Norton outside Harare at dawn on December 3. She was charged in court on December 24 with recruiting people for banditry, a crime that carries the death penalty in Zimbabwe. She alleges she was tortured by state security agents and denied medication to treat her allergies.
Mukoko is among 32 activists, mainly from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), who were kidnapped between October and December.
