Women arrested over fees protest freed in Zimbabwe

HARARE, May 8 (Reuters) Zimbabwe police today freed more than 100 women arrested five days ago for taking part in an illegal march in protest against sharp rises in school fees, a member of the group said.

Jenni Williams, spokeswoman for the pressure group Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), said she and 104 fellow activists were released from custody in the southern city of Bulawayo after prosecutors declined to pursue the matter in court.

''...It is very clear there is no case they can bring against us,'' Williams told Reuters by telephone. Police could not be reached immediately for comment.

Many had complained of chest problems after being drenched by rain while they were held in a cage in the open on the first night and sleeping on damp floors, Williams said.

Police have arrested scores of WOZA activists in the past three years for holding demonstrations against economic hardship, in defiance of strict security laws banning public gatherings without police permission.

WOZA says women have borne the brunt of an eight-year recession and rampant inflation widely blamed on mismanagement of the economy by President Robert Mugabe's government.

Mugabe has vowed to crush the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) if it goes ahead with protests it has threatened to hold against his 26-year-old rule.

The government has not responded to a weekend report by a human rights group that state security agents had increased the use of torture against government opponents.

The Zimbabwe Human Rights Forum -- a coalition of 17 rights groups -- said 19 cases of torture, 32 of general assault and 46 cases of ''unlawful arrest'' had been recorded in March against the police, the army and agents of the Central Intelligence Organisation.

The government has in the past dismissed such allegations as political propaganda.

Mugabe, in power since independence in 1980, says the MDC is a puppet of former colonial ruler Britain which he says has led a campaign to destroy Zimbabwe's economy as payback for his drive to seize white-owned farms to give to landless blacks.

REUTERS CH PM2324