Harare, June 08: Zimbabwe defiantly rejected international condemnation of its arrests of journalists and lawyers under tough new laws seen aimed at repressing dissent in the troubled southern African state. Information Minister Jonathan Moyo branded U.S. criticism of the laws as "arrogant," the official Herald newspaper reported.

Harare's magistrates court Thursday remanded to Aug. 1 two top lawyers arrested Monday over allegations that they wrote to the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and the British High Commission, or embassy, urging violent rejection of President Robert Mugabe's controversial March re-election. Law Society of Zimbabwe President Sternford Moyo and Secretary Wilbert Mapombere were ordered to pay $360 bail each and surrender all their travel documents.
If tried and convicted, the two face up to 20 years in jail under a tough new security law critics say is aimed against Mugabe's political opponents.
Bureau Report