A Harare court on Monday postponed to later this month a ruling on whether to dismiss the case against four newspaper directors charged with illegally publishing the popular Daily News.
Magistrate Lillian Kudya told the four to return to court on July 30, when she is expected to hand down her judgement.
Last week a defence lawyer applied for discharge of the case against the Daily News directors, who were arrested last year for publishing the newspaper without being registered with the state media commission.
Under Zimbabwe’s strict press law, all journalists and newspapers have to be registered with the official Media and Information Commission.
Armed police shut down the Daily News and confiscated computers in September last year after the Supreme Court ruled that the newspaper, which had about one million readers, was publishing illegally.
Howeverm it briefly returned to the newsstands after another court ruled in its favour, leading to the arrest of the four directors.
They could face a fine or a two-year jail term if convicted. — Sapa-AFP