On Thursday, the U.S.-based National
Association of Black Journalists announced the winner of its 2009 Percy
Qoboza Foreign Journalists Award: Zimbabwean
journalist Anderson Shadreck Manyere. Half a world away, however,
Manyere, left, lingered in a hospital in the capital, Harare, traumatized by nearly four months of
imprisonment, according to his lawyer.
A freelance photojournalist, Manyere was
snatched by security agents in December, held incommunicado for 11
days amid allegations of torture, and imprisoned in a maximum security prison
until April. He was among more than
30
people swept up in a string of extrajudicial arrests that also included former
news anchor Jestina
Mukoko. In February, CPJ raised
Manyere's case with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangiraï and
called
on him to lead the unity government in addressing Zimbabwe's long-standing
press freedom woes.
In a
statement, NABJ President Barbara Ciara said this year's prize recognized the
"bravery and courage" of Manyere while "calling attention to the plight of many
imprisoned journalists across Africa and the world."
"It's the best news I've heard this year,"
Manyere's lawyer, Alec Muchadehama, told me on Thursday. The journalist has
been hospitalized since his release on bail from prison on April 17, he said.
While the journalist had no visible physical injuries, Muchadehama said, he
looked depressed from abuse he suffered in custody.
In
fact, in an interview
earlier this month with the U.N.-sponsored IRIN news service, Manyere said he
was held in solitary confinement and given only "two liters of water a
week." Muchadehama said Manyere was physically assaulted, blindfolded,
interrogated for hours, and waterboarded. In January, Justice Gloria Takundwa of the High Court of
Zimbabwe ordered
police to investigate allegations of abuse and present a report. "He needs psychological treatment so
he can become a normal person. It's going to be difficult," Muchadehama said.
"If he was free of court allegations, I think his recovery would be quicker,"
he said.
In fact, Manyere still faces vague and
unsubstantiated charges of banditry, sabotage, insurgency, and terrorism (a
capital offense in Zimbabwe)--charges
he denies. Muchadehama said Manyere's arrest could have been linked to
suspicions that he was the author of photographs of torture victims in Zimbabwe
that have appeared on the Internet.
Despite his condition however, state
prosecutors have not relented in ongoing efforts to send him back to prison.
They appealed the ruling granting Manyere bail and applied today for an arrest
warrant against the journalist on the grounds that he was on the run.
Calling Manyere a "victim of criminal kidnapping and enforced
disappearance," Muchadehama said the
defense is taking the state before the Zimbabwe Supreme Court, arguing that it
could not prosecute a defendant whose due process rights had been violated.
As
stated by NABJ's World Affairs Task Force Co-Chairman John Yearwood, we, too,
hope that with the award, "we can see some positive change in Zimbabwe,
positive change that has been way too long overdue."
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Working for the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, I was very much affected by the abduction of Anderson Manyere, Jestina Mukoko and others. I am so thankful for the NABJ's acknowledgement of Anderson's enormous courage. We will redouble efforts to end the persecution of him and others.
Congrats to Manyere. It comes with hard work, pain and danger. Fellow journalists are behind you and will always be
Did anyone ever establish who Manyere freelances for?