Some trade union protesters released

Almost half the Zimbabwean unionists arrested this week in Harare for protesting against high taxes and soaring inflation have been released after paying an "admission of guilt" fine, news reports said on Friday.

Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) president Lovemore Matombo and secretary-general Wellington Chibebe, who were among the 51 activists detained on Wednesday, were also released. Both men refused to pay the fine, preferring to appear in court instead, Agence France Presse (AFP) reported.

Matombo and Chibhebhe were charged under the country's Miscellaneous Offences law for conduct likely to disturb the peace. "We were released on the understanding that they (police) will proceed by way of summons," Chibhebhe told AFP.

In Mutare, near the Mozambique border, over 100 people were arrested, while two people were in police custody in the country's second city, Bulawayo.

There were unconfirmed reports in Bulawayo that Thabitha Khumalo, a member of the union's women's advisory council, was among several ZCTU leaders injured in running battles with the police. Following the arrest, ZCTU alleged that police had refused ambulances permission to carry the injured to hospital.

"The ZCTU views this as a gross violation of human rights, where people of Zimbabwe are not allowed to express themselves, especially at this time when the lives of people are so unbearable," the union said in a statement.

On Thursday the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) demanded the immediate release of all the activists, saying it was organising protest marches in support of the Zimbabwean workers.