Two senior journalists were freed on bail on Tuesday, one day after they were arrested on charges of publishing falsehoods about the detention of 18 activists, their lawyer said.
The editor of the weekly Zimbabwe Independent Vincent Kahiya and the paper’s news editor Constantine Chimakure were arrested on Monday over a story that reported on court documents naming security agents involved in the abductions of rights and opposition activists in November and December.
Kahiya and Chimakure were each charged with publishing falsehoods and released on bail of $200, their lawyer Innocent Chagonda said. They will also have to report to police every five days.
”They’ve been released, and they’ve now gone home,” he told AFP.
Their arrests have raised new concerns about press freedom under Zimbabwe’s unity government, which was formed under a power-sharing deal that guarantees freedom of expression.
So far, the new government has taken no steps toward repealing strict media laws.
The Zimbabwe Union of Journalists condemned the arrests, the latest in a series of actions against journalists.
”Veteran broadcaster Jestina Mukoko has been in and out of jail on allegations of recruiting bandits while freelance photo-journalist Andrison Manyere is in custody on similar charges,” the group’s secretary general Foster Dongozi said in a statement.
”In view of ongoing attempts to rebrand the country in order to attract investment and tourism, the latest move amounts to a spectacular ‘own goal’.”
The arrests came days after the government held a media conference over the weekend to pave the way for relaxing press restrictions, but many reporters snubbed the conference over the detention of freelance journalist Manyere. — Sapa-AFP