The leader of a Zimbabwean teachers' union has been freed on bail after reportedly being tortured while in police custody.

Raymond Majongwe appeared in court with a torn shirt, a bloodshot eye and a limp arm, reports the French news agency, AFP.

His Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) has been on strike since Tuesday, demanding a 100% pay rise.

Official inflation is currently running at 135%, while up to half the population - six million people - are facing the prospect of starvation, according to aid agencies.

He was released on bail of 15,000 Zimbabwe dollars (US$273), after the police had charged him under the controversial new Public Order and Security Act (POSA).

This makes it an offence for "any person who, acting in concert with one or more other persons, forcibly invades the rights of other people".

The police accuse Mr Majongwe and other union leaders of visiting schools and intimidating teachers into following the strike call.

Lowest paid

On Thursday, his lawyer Tererayi Gunje said that Mr Majongwe had been "seriously injured" according to AFP.

The economic crisis has made many Zimbabweans reliant on food aid

"He has been beaten up and when I saw him yesterday [Wednesday] night he couldn't sit on his own. I think he has broken ribs and internal bleeding," he said.

Mr Majongwe was a senior official of the opposition Zimbabwe Union of Democrats before forming the PTUZ.

Education, Sport and Culture Minister Aneas Chigwedere has called the strike illegal, although he last week admitted that teachers in Zimbabwe are the lowest paid in the Southern African region, reports AFP.

Correspondents say that the strike call has been patchily observed, with many teachers reporting for work but not teaching.

The strike has been rejected by the larger Zimbabwe National Teachers' Association.

Many opposition activists and two journalists have complained of being tortured while in police custody as political tensions have risen in recent years.