Prosecutors in Zimbabwe have withdrawn "terror" charges against 22 opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) activists due to insufficient evidence, defence lawyers said today.
The activists, including a member of parliament, were arrested in March as President Robert Mugabe's government began a crackdown against opposition, which saw MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai severely beaten in police custody.
State prosecutors had charged the men with undergoing terrorism training in South Africa and attempted murder. Prosecutors also said they were responsible for petrol bombings that mainly targeted police stations this year.
The men were rounded up after anti-riot police stopped an opposition prayer rally in Harare.
The crackdown drew widespread condemnation of Mr Mugabe's strong-arm tactics in handling the opposition and prompted regional heads of state to nominate South African President Thabo Mbeki to mediate between the government and the opposition.
Mr Mugabe - Zimbabwe's sole ruler since independence from Britain in 1980 - denies his policies have ruined a once promising economy and accuses the MDC of plotting with Western governments to unseat him.