Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
Voice of America is funded by the US Federal Government and content it
exclusively produces is in the public domain.
March 16, 2007

Zimbabwe Opposition Leader Released from Hospital
-------------------------------------------------

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=16AC7FF:A6F02AD83191E160539C25192219B47E9574F7DCC14957C0 Morgan Tsvangirai,
who suffered a head injury, left Harare hospital Friday





Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is seen in bed at a
local hospital in Harare, 14 Mar 2007Zimbabwe's main opposition leader
has been released from a hospital days after he was allegedly beaten
while in police custody.

Morgan Tsvangirai, who had suffered a head injury, left a hospital in
the capital city of Harare Friday.

Opposition officials say police beat Tsvangirai and several other
activists after breaking up an opposition rally on Sunday.

He had gone to the police station in Harare to check on senior members
of his party, the Movement for Democratic Change, who had been
detained. The party members said the gathering was a prayer meeting.
Authorities called it an outlawed political rally.

Writing in the British newspaper The Independent, Tsvangirai says that
"democratic change in Zimbabwe is within sight." He urged the
international community to pressure the government of President Robert
Mugabe.

Mr. Mugabe defended the crackdown against a barrage of international
criticism Thursday, saying his critics can "go hang". He says his
government was trying to prevent violence and punish its perpetrators.

Officials in Britain, Australia and the United States are calling for
increased sanctions in response to the crackdown, and have threatened
to take the issue before the U.N. Human Rights Council. But U.N.
Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro cautioned against imposing
sanctions that might harm innocent citizens.

Zimbabwe's citizens are already coping with an economic crisis marked
by food shortages and 1,700 percent inflation.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.


.