Zimbabwe court asked to free opposition official

HARARE (Reuters) - Lawyers for detained Zimbabweanopposition official Tendai Biti asked a court to release himunconditionally on Tuesday after police failed to bring him tocourt to face a treason charge.

Biti, the secretary-general of the Movement for DemocraticChange, has been in police custody since he was arrested atHarare airport on Thursday as he returned home ahead of a June27 presidential election run-off.

MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, challenging veteran PresidentRobert Mugabe in the vote, was detained and released at leastthree times last week.

Police said they were holding Biti for announcing theresults of the March 29 general elections prematurely. He facesa possible death penalty if convicted of the treason charge.

"We are seeking a declaration of his continued detention asunlawful and for his immediate release. The application wasfiled this morning, but we are yet to be allocated a judge tohear it," defence lawyer Lewis Uriri said.

Uriri added that it was possible that the police would laymore charges against Biti.

Tsvangirai defeated Mugabe, 84, in the election but failedto win the absolute majority required to avoid a run-off,according to official figures.

Mugabe, who has ruled since independence from Britain in1980, is fighting to keep power amid a desperate economiccrisis that has brought hyperinflation and foot shortages andhas driven millions of Zimbabweans to seek work abroad.

VIOLENCE

The MDC accuses the government of waging a violent campaigndesigned to intimidate the opposition and its supporters aheadof the run-off.

At least 66 opposition activists have been killed byZANU-PF militia since the March elections, the MDC says. Mugabeblames the opposition for the violence that has causedwidespread international concern.

Mugabe threatened on Monday to arrest MDC leaders over theviolence.

"This election is flawed. It is not free and fair and,therefore, whatever result comes out will be illegitimate,"Maureen Kademaunga, an official with the independent MediaMonitoring Project Zimbabwe, told reporters in Nairobi.

"What we want is for the world to be brave enough to standup and actually hold Mugabe accountable for the atrocities thathe is committing against the people of Zimbabwe."

The Zimbabwean ruler warned last week that his supporterswere ready to take up arms to prevent the African nation fromfalling under the control of the country's white minority andWestern powers.

A senior U.N. envoy, Assistant Secretary-General forPolitical Affairs Haile Menkerios, arrived in Zimbabwe late onMonday for a five-day visit to assess Zimbabwe's political andhumanitarian crisis before the run-off vote.

(Additional reporting by Daniel Wallis in Nairobi; Writingby Paul Simao; Editing by Matthew Tostevin)