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First Lady of Zimbabwe, Grace Mugabe
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Cape
Town, South Africa, October 23, 2014 – Police and politicians in Zimbabwe should
respect the right of journalists to report the news without fear of
intimidation or violence, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today after
police beat up a journalist in the capital, Harare.
The
attack on Wednesday followed a statement made last week by Grace Mugabe, the wife of
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, in which she said journalists working for
privately owned media were opposition activists and were bribed to write
negative stories about her, news reports said.
Today, Grace Mugabe announced her
candidacy to succeed her husband as president, according to news reports.
"Public
figures should have a high tolerance for criticism and should never disparage
independent journalists for doing their work," CPJ's Africa Program
Coordinator Sue Valentine said. "Such comments clearly can put journalists
at risk of harassment or violence."
Tapiwa
Zivira, a journalist who produces multimedia content for the privately owned
independent paper Newsday,
was in downtown Harare on Wednesday and was filming police detaining street
vendors allegedly trading without a permit and other individuals, he told CPJ.
Police have been photographed previously by Newsday taking
heavy-handed action against touts marshaling commuters into taxis. Zivira said
that when police saw him recording their actions, they began to beat him with their fists and batons and threw him into the
police van. He was held for four hours at the police station before he was
released.
Zivira
said he was badly bruised and had a torn ligament in his foot. He said that
police returned his recording device, but deleted the footage, and did not
return his press card.
Zivira
told CPJ that while police officers pummeled him on the sidewalk they had
referred to Mugabe's criticism of journalists, saying, "Did you hear what
the first lady said last week?"
"It
was like it was raining fists, batons and boots," Zivira said of the
assault to CPJ. "I was trying to tell them I was doing my work as a
journalist, but that made them hit me much more. They said the press always
writes negatively about the police."
CPJ's
calls and a message sent to the minister of information about Grace Mugabe's
statement were not immediately returned. CPJ's call to a police spokesman was
not immediately answered.
The
Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) condemned the attack. Foster Dongozi,
secretary-general of the union, told CPJ that Mugabe's statement
"undermines the safety of our members, especially in a politically charged
environment."
Source: www.cpj.org
CPJ is an
independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom
worldwide.
Contact:
Sue Valentine
Africa Program
Coordinator
Peter Nkanga
West Africa
Representative
Email: pnkanga@cpj.org
Tom Rhodes
East Africa
Representative
Email: trhodes@cpj.org
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