Opposition now classed as treason in Zimbabwe as leader faces death penalty

Opposing the regime of Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe is now a treasonable offence, campaigners were told today.

The warning came after the deputy leader of the opposition was arrested on a charge of treason for writing a simple election strategy.

Tendai Biti, secretary-general of the Movement for Democratic Change, was arrested yesterday at Harare airport and could face the death penalty.

It is the strongest sign yet that the generals behind the 28-year regime will refuse to cede power if the MDC wins an election run-off on 27 June.

Officers holding Mr Biti at an 'unknown' police station claimed he had published a 'treasonable document' discussing changes in Zimbabwe's government.

Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena said Mr Biti would also be charged with making false statements 'prejudicial to the state'.

He claimed Mr Biti announced the first election results, on 29 March, before the official count was released.

Under Zimbabwean law, only the electoral commission can announce results.

Governments around the world expressed outrage at the latest crackdown but South African president Thabo Mbeki - the supposed mediator - has not yet intervened.
There were also claims that the apparently 'treasonable document' was a hoax.

US State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said: 'This is a government that is taking tremendous and, frankly, awful strides to maintain its power, that is increasingly abusing its own citizens and has raised, or should I say lowered, the bar to a level that we rarely see.'

Held: Morgan Tsvangirai, applauds supporters as he disembarks from a new tour bus to be used on his campaign trail, in Harare

US ambassador James McGee added that the Bush administration was 'very, very concerned' about Biti's arrest.

The MDC called on police 'to immediately reveal Mr Biti's location and release him unharmed immediately.'

The party said it was 'extremely concerned about the welfare of the secretary-general given the flagrant disregard for the rule of law and ongoing, state-sanctioned political violence and abductions currently prevalent in Zimbabwe'.

MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai has also been arrested for the third time after returning to the country to campaign for the election - but was released in the early hours today.

Determined: Movement for Democratic Change party supporters welcoming their leader Morgan Tsvangirai

The 27 June poll is being re-run after Mr Mugabe failed to win a majority in March, achieving 43 per cent of the vote to the MDC's claimed 50.3 per cent. It is not clear if the results were tampered with.

The White House called on the UN Security Council to intervene in Zimbabwe to avoid a humanitarian crisis.

Experts warned that a third of the population, four million people, need food aid after the country's formerly vast agricultural industry collapsed.

Scrutiny: Members of the Southern African Development Community election observer mission to Zimbabwe hold a briefing at a local hotel in Harare