[JURIST] The senior Zimbabwe lawyer for soon-to-be-extradited British mercenary Simon Mann [BBC profile] was arrested Monday night for alleged violations of Zimbabwe's Immigration Act [PDF text]. Jonathan Samkange was arrested by police in Harare, Zimbabwe's capital city, for allegedly violating immigration laws in relation to a witness that testified at one of Mann's hearings. Harare police have refused to comment on the arrest and the president of the Law Society of Zimbabwe could only confirm that Samkange had been arrested, but repeated that no details of charges against the lawyer had been specified.

Samkange filed an appeal on Friday with the High Court in Harare seeking to block a recent court ruling permitting the extradition of Simon Mann [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.