Serbian political activist Popovic denies claims he is in Zimbabwe

Srdja Popovic, the Serbian rights activist credited with helping bring down the regime of Slobodan Milosevic and inspiring the Arab Spring has denied claims by the Zimbabwe government that he is in the country to "promote anarchy and destruction of property".

Home Affairs Minister Cain Mathema claimed Popovic had arrived in Zimbabwe disguised as a tourist – his real mission to help the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) stage violent anti-government protests.

But Popovic told ZimLive in an interview on Thursday that he had never set foot in Zimbabwe.

"I've never been to Zimbabwe in my lifetime or got involved in any kind of local policy or partisan issue," said Popovic, the founder of the Centre for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies (CANVAS).

"I'm also using this opportunity to call Zimbabwean government, media and other stakeholders in Zimbabwe to give their best to stick to the truth, uphold the constitution, support human rights and stop illegal prosecution, abductions and torture of peaceful human rights defenders," he added.

In June, seven human rights activists were arrested while returning from the Maldives where they attended a workshop organised by Popovic's CANVAS. Prosecutors charged the group with treason, accusing them of undergoing training on how to topple President Emmerson Mnangagwa's regime through organising street protests.