The lawyers for freelance journalist Frank Chikowore approached the High
Court after a magistrate’s court earlier on Tuesday refused to release him
on bail.
“We have filed an urgent bail application but we will only know tomorrow
(Thursday) which judge has been allocated to hear the matter,” his lawyer,
Harrison Nkomo said.
Chikowore was arrested together with 26 opposition Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) party activists on April 15 and charged with public violence.
They have remained in custody awaiting trial.
Former Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) secretary-general Luke
Tamborinyoka, now director of information for the MDC, is among those
detained with Chikowore.
Zimbabwe authorities have stepped up a crackdown on journalists and other
voices of dissension since the country’s disputed March 29 elections.
ZUJ and other media groups deplored the crackdown, which they said appeared
meant to cow independent journalists and ensure they would be too scared to
report any flaws in an anticipated second round run-off election between
President Robert Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
“We are concerned about the crackdown on journalists. Journalists have been
abducted, beaten and illegally detained and we condemn this abuse of power,”
said ZUJ secretary general Foster Dongozi.
“Our fear is that as we go to the presidential run-off the state will step
up its crackdown to ensure that whatever corruption and misdeeds are
happening go unreported,” he added.
The Zimbabwe chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa said the
crackdown had put the lives of journalists at risk.
“The security and safety of journalists is under serious threat in this
country, judging by the trends in recent weeks. We condemn the deliberate
attempts to muzzle the media,” chapter spokesman Takura Zhangazha said.
Zimbabwe is widely regarded as one of the most difficult countries in the
world for journalists to work in.
For example, the country requires journalists and newspapers to obtain
licences from a state commission in order to operate, with reporters caught
working without being registered facing arrest. Newspapers that fail to
register face closure and seizure of their property by the police.
Another law, the Public Order and Security Act, imposes up to two years in
jail on journalists convicted of publishing falsehoods that may cause public
alarm and despondency, while the Criminal Codification Act imposes up to
20-year jail terms on journalists convicted of denigrating Mugabe in their
articles.
Repression against the independent media usually peaks during elections. –
ZimOnline
HARARE – Lawyers representing a jailed Zimbabwean journalist filed an urgent
court application for his release on Wednesday, as media bodies warned that
the security of journalists in the troubled country was under threat.
The lawyers for freelance journalist Frank Chikowore approached the High
Court after a magistrate’s court earlier on Tuesday refused to release him
on bail.
“We have filed an urgent bail application but we will only know tomorrow
(Thursday) which judge has been allocated to hear the matter,” his lawyer,
Harrison Nkomo said.
Chikowore was arrested together with 26 opposition Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) party activists on April 15 and charged with public violence.
They have remained in custody awaiting trial.
Former Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) secretary-general Luke
Tamborinyoka, now director of information for the MDC, is among those
detained with Chikowore.
Zimbabwe authorities have stepped up a crackdown on journalists and other
voices of dissension since the country’s disputed March 29 elections.
ZUJ and other media groups deplored the crackdown, which they said appeared
meant to cow independent journalists and ensure they would be too scared to
report any flaws in an anticipated second round run-off election between
President Robert Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
“We are concerned about the crackdown on journalists. Journalists have been
abducted, beaten and illegally detained and we condemn this abuse of power,”
said ZUJ secretary general Foster Dongozi.
“Our fear is that as we go to the presidential run-off the state will step
up its crackdown to ensure that whatever corruption and misdeeds are
happening go unreported,” he added.
The Zimbabwe chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa said the
crackdown had put the lives of journalists at risk.
“The security and safety of journalists is under serious threat in this
country, judging by the trends in recent weeks. We condemn the deliberate
attempts to muzzle the media,” chapter spokesman Takura Zhangazha said.
Zimbabwe is widely regarded as one of the most difficult countries in the
world for journalists to work in.
For example, the country requires journalists and newspapers to obtain
licences from a state commission in order to operate, with reporters caught
working without being registered facing arrest. Newspapers that fail to
register face closure and seizure of their property by the police.
Another law, the Public Order and Security Act, imposes up to two years in
jail on journalists convicted of publishing falsehoods that may cause public
alarm and despondency, while the Criminal Codification Act imposes up to
20-year jail terms on journalists convicted of denigrating Mugabe in their
articles.
Repression against the independent media usually peaks during elections. –
ZimOnline
Post published in: News