By Nelson Banya
HARARE, March 21 (Reuters) – Six Zimbabwean activists
convicted of airing Arab Spring videos as part of a plot against
President Robert Mugabe were fined and sentenced to community
service on Wednesday, a milder punishment than the 10 years
jail that could have been handed down.
The group, led by Munyaradzi Gwisai, a former opposition
lawmaker in Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s party, was found
guilty on Monday of “conspiracy to commit acts of public
violence” against Mugabe.
Magistrate Kudakwashe Jarabini said the activists had
conspired to commit a serious crime, but fined them $500 each
and ordered them to perform 420 hours of community service as
they had not carried out their plans.
“The court has taken cognisance of the fact that the accused
didn’t get to the full commission of the crime,” Jarabini said.
“The court has chosen a more compassionate approach to the
accused,” he said, as sighs of relief were heard in the packed
courtroom.
All defendants have denied the charges. Defence lawyers said
they would appeal against both the conviction and sentence.
A small group of students aligned to Gwisai’s radical
International Socialist Organisation clashed with police outside
the courtroom as they sang revolutionary songs denouncing Mugabe
and the police.
A Reuters witness saw four students being led away by the
police as the rest of the group fled.
“This is a people’s victory,” one student shouted.
Continued…
