According to this update from the International Socialist Organisation (Zimbabwe), the bail hearing for Munyaradzi Gwisai and the six remaining detainees who have been charged with treason will be tomorrow at 9am:

With most of the arrested comrades having been released after the state failed to prove a prima facie (clear) case against them, the battle is still on to secure the release of the six comrades who are still in detention. We are still visiting them at the prisons. Welcome Zimuto is at Harare Remand Prison, Munyaradzi Gwisai, Hopewell Gumbo, Tatenda Mombeyarara and Eddison Chakuma are at Harare Central Prison whereas Antonater Choto is at Chikurubi Female Remand Prison. Those four at Central Prison are still in solitary confinement whereas Antonater Choto is not feeling well at Chikurubi. The officers advised that it is not possible for her to see a doctor out of the prison but that the doctor should visit the prison and examine her from there. The lawyers however have filed a bail application today at the High Court and we have been reliably informed that the hearing is set for Friday 11/03/11 at 09:00hrs.

Yesterday we shared with our subscribers the news about 39 of the 45 treason charge detainees being released. However, as we noted, Munyaradzi Gwisai of the International Socialist Organisation (Zimbabwe) and 5 others remain in custody.

Here are some of the responses we received:

• This is wonderful news!
• Great news! We wait for the 6. Keep up the spirit, keep up the fight!
• Thanks be to God. We pray for the remaining 6 to be granted freedom.
• Let’s keep on praying for the remaining ones.
• God is great.
• Time is on our side, we must be patient.
• We will win.
• The Almighty God’s power will deliver them.
• Acts 12 v 5-11 – I mean the same God who did it then will surely even today. Heb 13 v 8.
• Surely one day all of us will be free from bondage.
• The Almighty is a loving and caring Father who is going to lead us out of bondage like he did the Israelites out of Egypt!
• Thank you. Peace to the remaining 6.
• We pray for peace and a good government. Can the Almighty God bless all and release poverty and hunger for many of us to remember his Greatness. Amen.
• God is for us.
• Thank God.
• This is ridiculous. It’s meant to frustrate any meaningful activism here. Kuvhunduka chati kwacha.
• God delivered the Israelites out of Egypt. He is doing it for the second time. The third time will be for all who are living in bondage myself included.
• They’ll detain even millions. Know your environment and characters. Action!
• Not fair they must all be relased. God is watching.
• No to treason. If that is the case we are not yet independent. No freedom. So we will go for it. What I know is God is watching. We are praying for their release.
• Certainly they’ll win their case because a remote control isn’t a weapon to threaten the security of the nation let alone the government. It’s a mockery of our justice system. Viva Munya.
• That’s very bad. How is the police force operating just detaining people for the sake of pleasing Zanu PF. Bad recipe.
• Gwisai demonstrated, so has Mugabe. Free him.
• We are with you guys. They cannot kill your spirit. Gwisai, the revolutionary fire in you can never be quenched by any force, whehter natural or supernatural. All African dictators must go this year!
• Shame to the spin doctor, he represents everything bad & evil in this country. To the 45 hang in there we’re with you in our prayers.
• Thank God let’s hope the remaining 6 will be released too.
• That’s better now. We hope and pray that the remaining will be released soon. Let justice prevail.
• Thanks the Almighty and your update.
• Fear of the people is driving them crazy and most dangerous. The masses keep quiet at their own peril. Todaay it’s Gwisai tomorrow it’s you & me!

I am thrilled to report the release of our colleague Lenard Kamwendo and 38 other detainees who had been facing treason charges in the case of the International Socialist Organisation (Zimbabwe)’s Munyaradzi Gwisai and 44 others. In the Magistrate’s court in Harare today, Magistrate Mutevedzi held that there was no reasonable suspicion against 39 of the detainees, and they have been released.

But Gwisai, Hopewell Gumbo of ZIMCODD and 4 others are still being held in custody. They will not appear in court again until 21 March – over a month since they were arrested for holding a meeting in which they discussed recent events in Tunisia and Egypt. They also deserve to be going home today. Free the 6 now.

Frustrated and looking for Something I could do to express my outrage, I shaved my head in solidarity with Munyaradzi Gwisai of the International Socialist Organisation (Zimbabwe) and the 44 others who have been charged with treason for discussing recent events in Tunisia and Egypt.

Watch the video here and share your solidarity – email info [at] kubatana [dot] net

The following update from the International Socialist Organisation (Zimbabwe) shares some of the challenges Munyaradzi Gwisai and the 44 others who have been charged with treason have faced during their prolonged detention:

We had been paying the rentals of the families of the detained and to give them some cash to meet their daily basic requirements. A Trust was set up called Fourty-Five Social Response Trust in order to ensure that the needs of the detained and their families are met. Currently all the funds we received are being administered by a law firm in town to ensure accountability. We are currently working on the issue of a bank account for the trust in order to ensure that all funds are deposited in one account.

Now back to the affairs of the detained: We visited them during the week and they were being examined by medical doctors of their choice to check on their health as per the court order and this was being facilitated by the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights. We were reliably informed that by Friday afternoon the doctors had finished examining everyone and the only pending issue was the medicines and further examination to some who needed special attention for example Antonetter Choto and a few others.

On Saturday morning we visited the male remand prison only to be told that half (17) of the prisoners had been moved to Harare Central Prison (a prison designed for convicted persons only) and the other
17 remained at the remand prison. Those who had been moved told us that they were moved on Friday evening and they were in solitary confinement, one in his own cell. They were allowed 30 minutes exercise in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening and the rest 23 hours they had to spend in a locked cell, each person by himself.

We could see frustration and distress on the faces of these 17 comrades. We asked in vain to get an explanation as to why these people who are not yet convicts were in a prison for the convicted. We however managed to give them food and drinks. We advised the lawyers on the matter and they said they will look into it. The comrades are however due to attend court on Monday 07/03/11.

It’s days like this that make me wish I could believe in something. Instead, my every eyelash and rainbow and first star wish, my deepest hope and greatest intention have all been going for the same thing for the past 17 days. I need this to be the day the International Socialist Organisation (Zimbabwe)’s Munyaradzi Gwisai, ZIMCODD’s Hopewell Gumbo, our colleague Lenard Kamwendo and the 42 others who have been charged with treason go home.