Cape Town - Zimbabwean police have defied a High Court order
by refusing to release human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa from custody after
she was arrested in Harare on Sunday.
Mtetwa was arrested when she went to assist Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai's chief legal adviser, Thabani Mpofu, during a police raid at
his Harare home.
According to an independent lawyers group, Zimbabwe Lawyers
for Human Rights, Mtetwa was accused of "obstructing or defeating
the course of justice".
Spokesperson for the group Kumbirai
Mafunda told News24 that police were still holding Mtetwa.
"Yes, she is still being held by the police and lawyers are
at the police station trying to have her released," said Mafunda.
Mafunda said Mtetwa was supposed to have been releases at
02:00 on Monday as ordered by the High Court.
He said the defiance of the court order by the police was
worrying.
"It's unfortunate that police are taking the law into their
own hands. We are worried by the defiance of the court order. The development is
meant to intimidate lawyers to stop them from doing their work."