A Zimbabwean court on Thursday ruled that four directors of the country’s only private daily should stand trial for publishing last month without a license.
The four — who own the Daily News, a banned paper fiercely critical of the government — were arrested last month after they resumed publication following a court ruling that they must be issued with a license.
They had sought to have charges against them quashed at the magistrate’s court.
”I am of the view that clearly there is a reasonable suspicion that an offence was committed … (and) it is proper that the accused be placed on remand,” said magistrate Mishrod Guvamombe.
The four — Samuel Sipepa Nkomo, Rachel Kupara, Brian Mutsau and Stuart Mattinson — had spent two nights in police cells in Harare following their arrest.
Their arrest followed that of a co-director, Washington Sansole, in the second city of Bulawayo, who was released following a High Court order.
Some 18 workers, including journalists, were arrested shortly after an edition of the Daily News hit the streets on October 25, but they were later released without charge. – Sapa-AFP