ALERT UPDATE

31 MAY 2002

COURT SENDS JOURNALISTS FOR TRIAL

A magistrate's court in Zimbabwe ruled, yesterday, 30 May, that The Daily
News reporter Lloyd Mudiwa and Guardian foreign correspondent Andrew Meldrum
must be tried on allegations of having written "falsehoods". The two are
being charged under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Harare magistrate Joyce Negonde said Meldrum a Zimbabwe permanent resident,
would stand trial on June 12 and Mudiwa, on June 20.
The case against Meldrum and Mudiwa originated from a story run in the Daily
News and the Guardian about allegations that ruling party's vigilante
supporters had beheaded a woman. The Daily News later apologized to the
ruling Zanu-PF after the story was proved to be false.
Neither journalist spoke after yesterday's hearing. Their lawyer Beatrice
Mtetwa said: "We are happy the state has finally set a date and we hope we
can prove our case that the state is being vindictive with these
prosecutions."

Background

Check MISA-Zimbabwe alerts of 1,2,3 and 8 May 2001.

END

Rashweat Mukundu
Research and Information Officer
MISA-Zimbabwe
221 Fife Ave
Box HR 8113
Harare
Zimbabwe

Phone: 00 263 4 721 841, 735 441-2
Cell : 00 263 4 011 602 685
E mail: [email protected]