Harare – A leading Zimbabwe human rights lawyer who has defended high-profile cases, was arrested in court on Friday and where he was representing a prominent journalist, and briefly detained, his lawyer said.
Police officers picked up Doug Coltart at a Harare magistrate court where the trial of outspoken journalist and activist Hopewell Chin’ono for allegedly obstructing justice, was due to take place.
Coltart was released hours later.
“He was at court (this) afternoon and soon after court proceedings in a matter he is representing… Chin’ono, he was approached by police officers,” his lawyer Chris Mhike told AFP.
He was told to go to Harare Central police station “because they wanted to interview him about a matter he is handling”, said Mhike.
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Mhike said Coltart was charged with “fraud”, although the source of the accusations were unclear.
He is expected to appear in court on Saturday.
Chin’ono has been repeatedly arrested over the past two years.
He was in court on Friday over a 2020 case in which he was accused of breaching his bail conditions by tweeting about the court outcome of a gold smuggling scandal, despite a ban on him posting on Twitter.
His Friday trial did not take place because the “matter is being used to politically perseute me”, Chin’ono said on Twitter.
In 2019 Coltart was arrested and beaten alongside teaching union leaders who were demonstrating in Harare against poor pay and conditions. They were charged with criminal nuisance.
Coltart also represented Jeffrey Moyo, a Zimbabwean freelance reporter for The New York Times, who in June was convicted of violating immigration laws for allegedly helping foreign journalists gain false accreditation.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Pixabay
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