Zimbabwe Still to Try South African Media Workers

Three South African media personnel reportedly employed by British television network, Sky News, were Thursday yet to appear before a Zimbabwean court, five days after their arrest for illegally broadcasting from the southern African country.

The Zimbabwe Republic Police successfully applied to the High Court on Thursday for further detention of the trio who were arrested in Zimbabwe’s second largest city of Bulawayo for possessing broadcasting equipment.

The Zimbabwean constitution requires that accused persons be brought before a court within 48 hours of their arrest, failing which they should be released.

No charges have been preferred against the three whose names are still to be ascertained. They are likely to face charges under Zimbabwe’s tough Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the Broadcasting Services Act.

Sky News, BBC and CNN are among some of the foreign news organizations banned from reporting in Zimbabwe.

The Zimbabwean authorities accuse the Western media of being agents of the British and American governments and of spreading falsehoods about the country, currently in the middle of an eight-year economic and political crisis.

Source African Press Agency

Net News Publisher