ARTUZ president Obert Masaraure charged over 2016 'murder'

Amalgamated Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) president Obert Masaraure was arrested on Tuesday accused of murder.

ARTUZ said the charges from a 2016 incident are without merit.

Masaraure was arrested after going to the Harare Central Police Station as part of his bail reporting conditions in a separate matter in which he is accused of participating in an illegal protest.

The charges emanate from an incident at the Jameson Hotel in Harare when youth activist Roy Issa fell to his death from a seventh-floor window while drinking with friends, including Masaraure.

An inquest into Issa's death ruled out foul play after hearing witness accounts about how he jumped to his death.

ARTUZ said Masaraure - who has been arrested more than a dozen times for his activism - was being persecuted "for standing for the rights of Zimbabwean workers."

On Wednesday, the union said police had blocked food deliveries to the unionist.

"They want to deliberately starve him in the cells so that they can serve him poison-laced food," ARTUZ charged.

In March, Masaraure was named as one of five winners of the Global Frontline Defender Award.