Zimbabwe has appealed to its highest court against a ruling ordering the release of a leading human rights campaigner charged with plotting to overthrow the government, state media said yesterday.

Jestina Mukoko, head of a local rights group, and eight other activists were this week charged with recruiting or attempting to recruit Zimbabweans to undergo military training to topple the government.

The case has deepened doubts over a power-sharing deal between President Robert Mugabe and the opposition seen as the best chance of easing Zimbabwe's economic crisis.

Last Wednesday, the High Court ordered the release of Mukoko and her co-accused to a local hospital. It also ordered that 23 other mainly opposition activists be freed from police custody because their detention was illegal.

If tried and found guilty they face the death penalty.

Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena told the state-run Herald newspaper that authorities were appealing against the ruling at the Supreme Court, automatically suspending the High Court order.

The activists' lawyers said police were using delaying tactics to keep the activists in custody. It was not clear when the appeal would be heard.

The September 15 power-sharing agreement has stalled over allocation of key cabinet ministries.