The editor of an independent newspaper in Zimbabwe has been charged under tough security laws for publishing a story about the alleged torture of an opposition activist, the editor said on Thursday.
Geoff Nyarota, editor of the privately-owned Daily News, said he was summoned on Wednesday by police and charged under a section of the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) for publishing a story deemed to ”undermine the image of police”.
The charge stems from a story the paper published earlier this month alleging that Tom Spicer, a white youth activist for the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was tortured while in police custody.
”I deny the charge. It is a matter of public record that Tom Spicer was tortured,” said Nyarota. He said the allegations had been made in court last month.
This is the sixth charge Nyarota will have pending in the courts. The award-winning editor, whose paper has the highest readership in the southern African country according to a recent survey, dismissed the police action as harassment.
”It’s part of the ongoing harassment of the independent press,” he said.
The Zimbabwe government this year passed strict security and press laws that have been widely condemned as restricting freedom of expression. – Sapa-AFP