The lawyer representing the Guardian’s correspondent in Zimbabwe, Andrew Meldrum, was threatened with detention herself yesterday after she went on his behalf to the headquarters of the immigration service in Harare.
Beatrice Mtetwa, a prominent local lawyer, was there to hand in a letter in response to the Zimbabwean government’s confiscation of Meldrum’s passport and residence permit.
Immigration officials alleged earlier this week that he had breached the terms of his residence permit by writing about the country’s political situation. Meldrum (51) who has been covering Zimbabwe for 23 years, was told he should write only about economics and tourism.
Ms Mtetwa was confronted by immigration officials and police officers infuriated that she was not accompanied by Meldrum.
She was told she would be held until she had produced her client, despite the fact that there had been no previous request for Meldrum to attend yesterday. After further exchanges, she was finally allowed to leave.
Mtetwa and Meldrum, one of the last foreign reporters working in Zimbabwe, have been ordered to appear at the immigration office tomorrow morning.
Last year Meldrum, an American citizen, was one of the first journalists to be prosecuted under new media laws. A Harare magistrate acquitted him of criminal charges of publishing false information about Zimbabwe. The law has been criticised by civil rights groups as an attempt to stifle criticism of President Robert Mugabe’s government.
Meldrum insists he is fighting to remain in the country not just on his own behalf, but to secure the rights of other journalists.
”The government thinks that by trying to intimidate or deport me, or prevent me from working, they will also prevent other journalists who are doing great work,” Meldrum said last week. – Guardian Unlimited Â