Morgan Tsvangirai,Denies charge of treason
Another two senior members of Zimbabwe's main opposition party have been charged with treason over an alleged plot to kill President Robert Mugabe.
The Movement for Democratic Change said that its General Secretary, Welshman Ncube, and MP Renson Gasela, were charged and released after two hours of questioning.
The party leader, Morgan Tsvangarai, was yesterday charged with treason in connection with the alleged plot. Mr Tsvangarai has said he will challenge Robert Mugabe in next month's elections, despite being charged.
Mr Tsvangirai denied the charge, which he said was part of government moves to wreck his campaign. "For some time now they've been trying to eliminate me from the political process and this is part of that process," said the MDC leader. The offence is punishable by death.
World leaders, including those of the US, Britain, Australia, and Canada, have expressed concern at this latest development. The United States and Britain condemned the action as another sign of Mr Mugabe's autocratic rule ahead of the 9-10 March election.
American State Department spokesman, Richard Boucher, said the US was aware of no convincing evidence against Mr Tsvangirai. Meanwhile, the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, has described the situation in Zimbabwe as worrying and called on the government not to tamper with the Presidential vote.
