Rights activists Robson Chere, Namatai Kwekweza, Samuel Gwenzi, and Vusumuzi Moyo will endure the weekend behind bars.
The State opposed their bail, so they remain detained.
The four appeared before Harare magistrate Ruth Moyo, charged with disorderly conduct.
Through their lawyers, they raised several complaints against suspected state agents who tortured them.
Their lawyers said the encounter resembled horror movies, and they are yet to recover from it.
Chere, of the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union, struggled to walk while his shirt was soaked in blood.
The court heard that the people who forced him out of the plane pulled his dreadlocks with a knife.
The four were interrogated by twelve men for hours, with one woman among the assailants.
“They were then taken to a room in the domestic terminal, where the contingent of their abductors had increased to twelve men.
“While they were in that room, they were taken into another room with a pit about three meters deep.
“In that room, the accused were separately interrogated, physically tortured, and verbally abused.
“They were not advised why they were being detained incommunicado and were not allowed access to their lawyers,” said Tinashe Chinopfukutwa, representing Gwenzi.
Jeremiah Bamu, representing Chere and Kwekweza, said the kidnappers kicked Kwekweza in the back.
“One of the men involved forcibly put his shoe into her mouth, accusing her of speaking too much and refusing to hand over her phone.
“After removing the shoe from her mouth, they also forced a metal bar into her mouth, fully aware she had just gone through dental procedures and was still healing,” he said.
She was not allowed to use the bathroom.
Bamu also said Chere requires urgent medical attention and risks developing kidney failure after severe flogging on his buttocks.
“As we speak, he is unable to sit upright. He has visible bruises on his buttocks. He is prepared to reveal that part of the body for the court to examine and for the State to appreciate his condition,” Bamu said.
The abductors threatened to rape Chere’s wife and told him about her location at that time.
“They also threatened to kill him or rape his wife if there are any demonstrations ahead of the SADC summit,” the court heard.
The court was told that Moyo has had “recurring episodes of confusion arising from these continuous hours of interrogation.”
Gwenzi was subjected to similar torture, although he did not sustain visible injuries.
“They further told him to pass on a message to Takudzwa Ngadziore and Gift Siziba that they would kill them if they planned anything.
They also told him to tell others that the ‘open boys are operating in town,'” the court was told.
The four will be back in court on Monday for a bail application.
Anesu Chirenje, representing the state, opposed bail.
The presiding magistrate ordered the state to ensure that Chere gets treatment in jail.
