Tsvangirai briefly detained at airport

Tsvangirai briefly detained at airport

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By Staff Reporter

ZIMBABWE opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was detained on Saturday at the Harare International Airport after a tour of Europe, his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party said in a statement.

"They detained him at the airport for 20 minutes," the official said.

"They photocopied pages of his passport and then they let him go."

Earlier the party had put out a statement saying he had been arrested and was being held at the airport.

Tsvangirai, who was recently acquitted of treason, has just completed a whirlwind tour of Africa and some European countries following the return of his passport after a two-year travel ban.

Condemnation came from Britain where former Sports Minister and Vauxhall MP Kate Hoey blasted: "This is yet another outrage against freedom and democracy. England’s cricketers must immediately leave the country in protest. Morgan Tsvangirai spoke out strongly against the tour when he was interviewed in London this week.

"Anyone with a genuine commitment to human rights and democracy will be sickened to think of our national team playing cricket under the protection of a government and police force that is brazenly continuing with its policies of oppression," she said, adding "Tsvangirai's arrest is an indication that state-sponsored violence and torture will increase as Zimbabwe approaches elections next year.’
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