Lawyers for eight Zimbabwean opposition activists from Mashonaland West province who were seized and prosecuted on charges they sought to topple the government said they have asked the high court to order they are provided access to their clients.

The application was to be heard in Harare high court on Friday morning, according to lawyers for the Movement for Democratic Change.

The lawyers said they had checked with all of the police stations in Harare where the activists might be held, but said they received little cooperation from police.

MDC sources said six activists and a two year-old baby were abducted by suspected state agents in Banket, Mashonaland West, between Wednesday and Sunday. Two more were abducted in Chinhoyi on Tuesday. The whereabouts of all is unknown.

Attorney Alec Muchadehama, representing the missing activists, told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that he suspects his clients have been tortured, which would explain why the police have not produced them.