Fifty-six protesters, who were arrested in August and charged with public violence after allegedly participating in the #ThisFlag and Tajamuka-organised shutdown, were yesterday released on $30 bail each by High Court judge Justice Happias Zhou.
BY CHARLES LAITON
The group is part of the many people who were picked up by police following violent clashes that rocked the city as law enforcement agents fought running battles with protesters.
In his judgment, Justice Zhou said the magistrate who dealt with the initial bail application had made a serious misdirection as there was no reason to incarcerate the protesters without compelling reasons.
The 56 suspects, according to the magistrate, had been denied bail on the basis that the State wanted to keep them at one place for purposes of carrying out an identification parade, but Justice Zhou castigated the court’s reasoning.
“It was a serious misdirection on the part of the magistrate to deny the persons their liberty for the reasons that there was need to have them in one place for purposes of carrying out an identification parade,” the judge said.
All the suspects are being represented by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights lawyer Jeremiah Bamu together with Harare lawyer Charles Chikore.
