Two staff members of the pressure group Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) are still in police custody after their arrest last Friday.

The two are being charged under the Criminal Law Act for allegedly undermining the authority of Robert Mugabe and a second charge of contravening the censorship laws, by allegedly possessing obscene, indecent or prohibited articles.

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) says their clients are accused of possessing 'drugs and pornographic material' and for displaying a plaque of ex-mayor of San Francisco Willie Brown in the GALZ office, in which the African-American criticises Robert Mugabe's stance on gays and lesbians. Mugabe infamously described homosexuals as 'worse than dogs and pigs'.

ZLHR information office Kumbirai Mafunda said the two GALZ employees have still to be taken to court since their incarceration five days ago. ZLHR filed an urgent High Court application seeking their release on Tuesday, but the chamber application could not be heard and is now expected to be heard on Wednesday after the Africa Day holiday.

Mafunda said it is still not clear if the police actually found any dangerous drugs or prohibited articles and that defence lawyers have had no proper access to their clients. He said: "What is worrying is that the lawyers have been denied access to their clients on numerous occasions, save for yesterday when they finally had access to them in the afternoon."

The ZLHR officer said the police also misinformed the lawyers, Dzimbabwe Chimbga, Tawanda Zhuwarara, David Hofisi, about the whereabouts of their clients. The police had taken GALZ activists back to their Milton Park offices on Monday, which were searched again. They also forced the two to divulge their email addresses and passwords, without the knowledge of their lawyers. The rights lawyers had been 'misled' into thinking that their clients were at Harare Central Police Station at the time.