Harare - Leading Zimbabwean human rights activist Jestina Mukoko was granted bail Monday, along with several other political prisoners, whose detention had threatened to scupper the country's fragile power-sharing government.

A magistrate's court in Harare ordered Mukoko's release on bail of 600 US dollars and on condition that she surrender her passport. The state did not oppose the ruling.

Zimbabwe Peace Project head Mukoko was taken from her home by state agents in the early hours of December 3 and held incommunicado for weeks, causing an international outcry.

Her whereabouts was unknown until her surprise court hearing on December 24 to face charges of recruiting or training for banditry.

The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party and civil society groups had called the charges against her and around several other party members and activists that were arrested since October "trumped up" and demanded their release.

Some of her fellow prisoners had been granted bail but could not yet go free because they couldn't raise the funds or produce a passport, lawyers said.

Roy Bennett, the MDC's choice for deputy agriculture minister in the unity government, remains in prison.

"Its good to be free. The cloud that is hanging over me has dissipated. I need to call my son and tell him I'm free," Mukoko told reporters as she left the courtroom.

The partial release, which follows a meeting on Monday between President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who heads the MDC, clears one of the hurdles to the functioning of the two-week-old coalition government of Mugabe's Zanu-PF and the MDC.

Tsvangirai had been trying, but failed, to have them freed before he took the oath of office on February 11.

Mugabe had been agreeable but the attorney general had refused his order, according to the MDC.

Defence lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa said last week that the state was trying to obtain pledges by the prisoners not to pursue the state for alleged torture in custody in return for their release.

Asked on Monday whether they had given any such undertaking, Mtetwa told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that a deal had been floated but that the issue had not yet been finalized. (dpa)