An HIV positive man in Zimbabwe has filed an application in the Supreme Court to try to force prison authorities to allow detainees who are HIV positive to receive the antiretroviral drugs that they require.

Douglas Muzanenhamo was arrested in Harare in February 2011 along with 44 other students and rights activists while watching DVDs about the Arab Spring at the offices of the local chapter of the International Socialist Organisation, an organisation that operates legally in Zimbabwe. He was detained for nearly three weeks on charges of plotting to oust President Robert Mugabe.

Police first refused to allow Muzanenhamo to contact his family to ask them to bring him his antiretroviral drugs. When …