Responding to the arrests and detentions of the weekly Zimbabwe independent to undermine or insult the authority of the country’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa, the authority of Khanyo Farisè, a senior researcher at Amnesty International in Eastern and Southern Africa.
“Amnesty International strongly condemns arrest and detention Faith Zaba exercises her constitutional guaranteed rights as a journalist. This is an attack on the rights to freedom of speech and free press.
“The Zimbabwean authorities must immediately release their faith Zaba and waive all charges against her because she was detained simply for her work. News is not a crime. The authorities must allow journalists to be free and safe without fear of harassment, intimidation or retaliation.
“Mhlanga, a journalist such as Zaba and her colleague, were blessed, were arbitrary detained earlier this year just for work, as part of an ongoing model in which the criminal justice system is abused to instill fear and curb press freedom by targeting independent media voices.
Zimbabwean authorities must immediately release Faith Zaba and waive all charges because she was detained for her work. News is not a crime. Authorities must allow journalists to work freely and safely without fear of harassment, intimidation or retaliation.
Khanyo Farisè, senior researcher at Amnesty International in Eastern and Southern Africa
“These strategies pose a major threat to the free media in Zimbabwe. The authorities must end the increasingly stringent restrictions on the country’s citizen space and allow all to exercise their human rights freely.”
The arrest of journalists such as Zaba and her colleagues, Mhlanga, was arbitrary detained earlier this year as part of an ongoing model in which the criminal justice system is abused to target independent media voices to instill fear and curb press freedom.
Falis Community
background
Faith Zaba was arrested on July 1 and was detained for allegations of undermining or insulting the president’s mandate or insulting the president. According to her attorney, Chris Mhike, the allegation involved a satirical article published last Friday in the Muklark column of the Week. Her bail application has been postponed until July 3 until her medical records are poor, awaiting review of her medical records. After Zaba was arrested, she was recently arrested and lengthy in custody of another journalist, Alpha Media House, HSTV’s news director, Blessed Mhlanga, who spent 72 days in pretrial custody.
