In a letter sent to Mugabe at the end of January, Law Society president Carolyn Kirby said that the society was ” deeply concerned” by reports of torture alleged by a lawyer and four others arrested by police last month.
Harare human rights lawyer Gabriel Shumba and Job Sikhala, who is a member of the opposition party Movement for Democratic Change, were among a group of five arrested last month for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government.
In testimonies presented to the St Maryland Police Department, Shumba said they were stripped and beaten, then tied to the ground and subjected to electric shocks.
Shumba also claimed that a document which was signed by him and used by police as evidence had been written under duress.
The group has now applied to have the case dropped.
The Law Society letter calls on Mugabe to initiate a thorough investigation of the reported torture of those arrested, make the results of that investigation public and then bring those responsible to justice.
