The whereabouts of Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the main opposition in Zimbabwe who was arrested along with a number of his supporters on Sunday when police prevented an anti-government demonstration in Harare is unknown.
The Zimbabwean High Court has orered the police to release him or produce in the court.
Tsvangirai’s supporters who went from one police station to another in search of their arrested leader were turned away by the police which did not give any reply to their queries.
The dictatorial politics of president Robert Mugabe, who seeks to continue in power even after the 2008 polls, has invited strong opposition from the public as well as many political groups.
Selby Hwacha, Tsvangirai’s lawyer, told the media that his staff had visited a number of police stations in Harare on Monday but were turned away. He believes that Tsvangirai had been badly beaten in police custody and no medical treatment was given.
Earlier today the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the arrests in Zimbabwe ‘which violate the basic democratic right of citizens to engage in peaceful assembly.’
The US has condemned the ‘brutal and unwarranted’ crackdown on the opposition and called for the activists to be released.
