Badly bruised Morgan Tsvangirai taken to court ADDS transit to hospital

Описание: (13 Mar 2007) SHOTLIST
++AUDIO AS INCOMING++
1. Wide of Magistrates' Court
2. Media in front of court
3. Wide of truck carrying Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai (light blue short sleeved shirt) and supporters arriving at court
4. Various of Tsvangirai being helped off the truck and towards court
5. Tsvangirai standing next to man with bandaged head and arm, Tsvangirai's right eye appears swollen and the right side of his head is shaven
6. Tsvangirai entering court building followed by large group of singing supporters
7. Police outside court
8. Various of Tsvangirai walking out of court, followed by a group of people
9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe opposition leader:
(Responding to a question asking how he is feeling)
"Terrible.....it was a sadist attack on defenceless people....."
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Arthur Mutambara, MDC Pro Senate Faction Leader:
"We don't recognise this illegitimate regime of Robert Mugabe, we are going to continue to defy them. We don't recognise Posa (Public Order Security Act), we don't recognise Robert Mugabe, they are criminals."
11. MDC supporters singing outside court
12. Tsvangirai sitting in van UPSOUND: (English) Morgan Tsvangirai: "We are going to hospital."
13. Tsvangirai sitting in van as it drives away
14. Wide of ambulances parked outside the court
15. Pan of riot police standing near the ambulances
16. Woman being helped out of court by ambulance worker
17. Woman on stretcher being placed into back of ambulance
18. Another person being stretchered into ambulance
19. Ambulance driving away followed by riot police
STORYLINE:
The leader of Zimbabwe's main opposition party and about 50 other democracy activists, many of them bandaged and bruised, were taken to hospitals following a court appearance on Tuesday - two days after they were arrested and reportedly beaten for trying to attend an opposition meeting.
The activists were ferried to private hospitals in ambulances and other vehicles under police guard, as their lawyers said the state intended to charge them with incitement to violence.
Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of Zimbabwe's main opposition party, walked slowly to an ambulance looking disoriented but able to board a minibus unaided.
"Terrible...It was a sadist attack on defenceless people," Tsvangirai said, responding to a question about how he felt.
The leader of a breakaway faction of Tsvangirai's party, Arthur Mutambara, also told journalists that they would "continue to defy" the Mugabe government.
A crowd outside the court sang and waved the opposition party's open hand salute.
Tsvangirai did not respond but others in the vehicle returned the salute.
He left with about six other activists who were part of a group of 14 a court had ordered be sent for medical care.
The others were taken in three ambulances and other vehicles to hospitals later in the afternoon.
Many were not visibly wounded but complained of bruises and internal injuries.
A lawyer for the group, Beatrice Mtetwa, said the state intended to charge the activists with incitement to violence and that bail had not been granted to any of them.
Tsvangirai was allegedly tortured after being arrested when police crushed a gathering on Sunday, which had been organised as a prayer meeting by a coalition of opposition, church and civic groups under the "Save Zimbabwe" banner.
In the wake of the violence, opposition activists have vowed to continue pressuring the government.
On Sunday, one opposition activist, Gift Tandare, was shot dead in unrest surrounding the prayer meeting.

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