[JURIST] Jonathan Samkange, senior lawyer for the legal team defending Simon Mann [BBC profile] in his extradition proceedings, was released by Harare police in Zimbabwe Wednesday after being arrested [JURIST report] Monday night for alleged violations of Zimbabwe's Immigration Act [PDF text]. Following applications by fellow lawyers seeking to have charges against Samkange clarified, Harare magistrate Lazarus Murendo ordered the lawyer released from police custody on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence to support the charges.

Samkange had filed an appeal on Friday with the High Court in Harare seeking to block a recent court ruling permitting Mann's extradition [JURIST report] to Equatorial Guinea, which Samkange alleges would expose Mann to potential persecution and torture, violating his human rights. Mann is wanted in Equatorial Guinea on charges of involvement in a plot to overthrow Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo [BBC profile]. ZimOnline has more.