Media bodies in Zimbabwe on Wednesday deplored a government crackdown on journalists and warned the safety of reporters was under threat in the aftermath of disputed elections. "The security and safety of journalists is under serious threat in this country," said Takura Zhangazha, spokesperson for the Zimbabwe chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa.
A court in Zimbabwe on Wednesday acquitted a United States and a British journalist of covering the country's March 29 elections without accreditation. Magistrate Gloria Takundwa said the state's evidence against New York Times correspondent Barry Bearak and Britain's Stephen Bevan was "inconsistent and unreliable".
A Zimbabwean court on Monday released a United States journalist and a British national on bail after charging them with reporting on the March 29 elections without accreditation, their lawyer said. "They have both been released on Z$300-million bail," lawyer Harrison Nkomo told journalists outside the court.
A Zimbabwean court has postponed until Tuesday a ruling on the opposition's legal bid to force the immediate publication of the March 29 presidential election results, lawyers said. "The matter has been postponed to tomorrow," opposition lawyer Alec Muchadehama told journalists outside the High Court in Harare.
Zimbabwe was on Saturday facing a protracted battle between the opposition and President Robert Mugabe's ruling party over the outcome of elections, with results still awaited a week on from the vote. Mugabe, still to make any public comment since last Saturday's elections, was endorsed by his Zanu-PF party on Friday to stand in a run-off.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and top aides thrashed out his survival prospects on Friday as the opposition upped pressure for presidential poll results to be declared after its parliamentary victory. The Movement for Democratic Change has lodged a court application demanding an end to the silence over the outcome of March 29's presidential ballot.
