By MacDonald Dzirutwe
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwean police arrested oppositionleader Morgan Tsvangirai twice more on Thursday in what hisspokesman said was harassment aimed at disrupting his campaignfor a June 27 run-off election.
Tsvangirai's latest arrest, at a roadblock near Gweru,outside Harare, came hours after police said his party'sSecretary General Tendai Biti would be charged with treason andcould face the death penalty. Biti was arrested on Thursday.
Tsvangirai was later released without charge.
"We have just been released, some five minutes ago. We werenot charged but held at Gweru Central Police Station for aboutthree hours," said Tsvangirai's spokesman George Sibotshiwe,who was among those arrested with the MDC leader.
"Our vehicles were searched. It's just harassment, but wewill be continuing with our campaign tomorrow," he said.
It was the fourth time in about a week that Tsvangirai hadbeen detained. He was held for two hours earlier on Thursday.
Biti was in police custody after being arrested at theairport in Harare. He flew home from South Africa to helpTsvangirai's campaign against President Robert Mugabe, who isbattling to keep his 28-year hold on power in the ruined state.
Police had sought Biti, the third ranking MDC official, forannouncing results of the March 29 first round voteprematurely.
"We are charging him with treason and communicatingstatements prejudicial to the state. For the treason charge hefaces the death penalty or life in prison," police spokesmanWayne Bvudzijena said.
The MDC described the charges as ludicrous and demandedthat defence lawyers be allowed to see Biti.
Britain and the United States expressed concern at Biti'sarrest. "We and the rest of the international community arewatching and we hold the Zimbabwe government responsible forhis physical safety," Foreign Secretary David Miliband said.
INTIMIDATION CAMPAIGN
The opposition and human rights groups accuse Mugabe'ssupporters, including the security forces, of arresting andattacking its opponents in a bid to intimidate the oppositionahead of the run-off.
Tsvangirai defeated Mugabe in the March 29 election butfailed to win the absolute majority needed to avoid a secondballot, according to official results. Mugabe's support hasbeen eroded by the economic collapse of his once prosperouscountry.
The MDC says ruling ZANU-PF party activists have killed 66opposition supporters since March. Mugabe and his officialsblame the opposition for the violence.
The Southern African Development Community, a grouping of14 nations including Zimbabwe, has sent a team of electionmonitors. Observers from Western nations critical of Mugabe'sgovernment are not being allowed into the country.
The political turmoil has compounded an economic crisis.
Inflation has soared to over 165,000 percent, unemploymentis around 80 percent and food and fuel shortages arecommonplace. Millions have fled to neighbouring countries insearch of food and work.
Critics blame Zimbabwe's decline on Mugabe's policies,including the seizure of thousands of white-owned farms whichthey say has contributed to the collapse of agriculture since2000. Some of the most fertile farms have gone to supporters ofMugabe who were ill-equipped for farming.
(Additional reporting by Cris Chinaka; writing by MariusBosch and Paul Simao; editing by Andrew Roche)
