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Two More Zimbabwe Opposition Officials Charged with Treason VOA News 27 Feb 2002 00:02 UTC 
Two more opposition officials are charged with treason in Zimbabwe over an alleged plot to assassinate President Robert Mugabe, heightening tensions ahead of presidential elections next month.
A spokesman for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change says police charged the party's secretary general, Welshman Ncube, and a member of parliament, Renson Gasela, after summoning them for questioning.
On Monday, police filed similar charges against opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai for allegedly conspiring with a Canadian-based political consulting group to assassinate President Mugabe.
Mr. Tsvangirai has denied the allegation, saying it is aimed at preventing him from challenging Mr. Mugabe in the March 9th and 10th presidential election.
The three opposition officials were released from custody after being charged.
The United States has condemned the Harare government for charging the opposition figures.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Tuesday there is no basis for the charges against the three opposition officials. He said the charge is "just another blatant example" of Mr. Mugabe's authoritarian rule and his government's determination to discredit and intimidate the opposition ahead of the election.
Meanwhile, Mr. Tsvangirai told reporters that persecution and harassment of opposition supporters continues through what he called state sponsored violence. However, he said international election observers have helped defuse some potentially dangerous situations.
Britain and other nations have also denounced the treason charges against Zimbabwe's opposition. Australia has threatened to impose sanctions against Zimbabwe if the opposition leader is not allowed to compete in the presidential poll.
Mr. Mugabe has been widely criticized for policies seen as stifling the political opposition and civil liberties ahead of the election.
Some information for this report provided by Reuters and AFP.
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