THE trial of three US citizens detained in Zimbabwe on arms charges was on Tuesday postponed by a High Court judge until July 19 because the prosecutor fell ill. Judge George Smith refused a longer postponement requested by the state, saying the case had attracted international attention and needed to be dealt with as soon as possible. He noted that the Americans had alleged they had been “very badly treated” since their arrest and “need to know their fate.” The three men — John Dixon, Gary Blanchard and Joseph Pettijohn, all aged 35 — were arrested in March in possession of a range of weapons while trying to board a Swissair flight from Harare to the United States via Zurich.