Zimbabwe hanged four prisoners convicted of murder,...

Zimbabwe hanged four prisoners convicted of murder, the state-controlled Herald newspaper reported.
The four prisoners had all been convicted of murder "without extenuating circumstances" the paper said. The four were hanged at the prison complex where Morgan Tsvangirai, the Zimbabwean Opposition leader, was awaiting trial on treason charges, prompting allegations that President Mugabe was seeking to intimidate his political rival.
Mr Tsvangarai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) described the hangings as "a brutal show of force".
Campaigners in the country for the abolition of the death penalty condemned the sudden execution of the four, which took place without any warning to their families. David Coltart, the shadow Justice Minister, linked the timing of the executions to Mr Mugabe's statement to a rally that he was "glad Tsvangirai is in state house (prison) now".
Two of those executed, Stephen Chidhumo and Elias Chauke, were among a group of four who escaped from Chikurubi maximum security prison, on the outskirts of Harare, in 1997, while serving sentences for robbery.
One of them, shot dead before recapture, snatched a rifle and killed a warder.
The fourth escaper broke his leg and died of his injuries in his prison cell. Judge Godfrey Chidyausiku sentenced Chidhumo and Chauke to death saying "it did not matter who fired the fatal shot".
No details were released of the crimes for which William Mukurugunye and John Nyamazana were also hanged. Both were alleged to be murderers.