ZIMBABWE In the run-up to parliamentary elections in March, the government of President Robert Mugabe further tightened repressive legislation that has been used to drastically reduce the independent media and its freedom to operate. Independent journalists continued to face police harassment, official intimidation, and the constant threat of arrest under the draconian laws. Several more…
New York, February 9, 2006—Zimbabwe’s High Court ruled on Wednesday that the government-controlled Media and Information Commission (MIC) must reconsider its July 2005 decision to deny registration to the banned Daily News and its sister paper, the Daily News on Sunday. The decision raises the possibility that the Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ), the papers’…
February 2, 2006 Original Alert: January 20, 2006 Sydney Saize IMPRISONED Sydney Saize, a former journalist for the banned independent Daily News, was released after spending three nights in police custody in the eastern town of Mutare. Police accused Saize of working without accreditation and filing a “false” story for the U.S. government-funded Voice of…
New York, January 24, 2006—Six trustees of the independent news production company Voice of the People were charged today with broadcasting without a license, which carries a potential two-year prison penalty. Defense lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa said her clients appeared in court this morning in the capital, Harare, after learning that police were seeking their arrest.…
New York, January 20, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the detention of Zimbabwean journalist Sydney Saize who has been held since Wednesday in the eastern town of Mutare. Police accused Saize of working without accreditation and filing a “false” story for the U.S.-funded radio Voice of America, according to the Media Institute for…
New York, January 18, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern today that Voice of the People (VOP), an independent Zimbabwean news production company, remains inactive after police confiscated its equipment and files in a December raid. Authorities have continued to hold VOP material for more than a month. VOP Director John Masuku appeared in…
New York, December 19, 2005—Three staff members of the independent news production company Voice of the People (VOP) were released this morning after three days in jail, but VOP Director John Masuku was detained and could be charged with broadcasting without a license, local sources told the Committee to Protect Journalists. The broadcast charge carries…