Nine journalists from Zimbabwe’s only independent daily, shut down two weeks ago for operating illegally, were charged on Thursday for practising without licences, a lawyer said.
The nine, who deny the charges, were the first out of a list of 45 Daily News journalists whom police want to question over their association with the embattled daily.
”The police have charged nine of the journalists under Section 83 (the licence requirement) of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act” said The Daily News’ legal director, Gugulethu Moyo.
The charges against the reporters come after police shut down the paper because it was operating without a licence. Five of the paper’s executives have already been charged.
Under the country’s strict press laws all journalists have to register with the government’s Media and Information Commission (MIC).
Most of the paper’s journalists who had applied for accreditation last year were turned down on the grounds that their employer had not applied for an operating licence.
Journalists who operate without accreditation risk being fined, barred from working for a period specified by the media commission or having their name deleted from the roll of journalists.
The Daily News did not register with the MIC, arguing that the law was unconstitutional. The paper’s publishers unsuccessfully challenged the law in court. They were ordered to comply with the law before challenging it. But the media commission has since refused to register The Daily News.
Meanwhile the Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa), a regional media watchdog, on Thursday appealed to the chairman of Zimbabwe’s media commission to reconsider its decision not to register The Daily News.
In a letter to the commission’s chairman, Misa regional director Luckson Chipare said such a move would be ”a goodwill gesture” and ”a sign of commitment to uphold media freedom and promote plurality of voices in Zimbabwe.” – Sapa-AFP