Imprisoned journalist 'will be free in days'
Hopes have been raised that a national newspaper reporter imprisoned in Zimbabwe will soon be freed.
Peta Thornycroft of the Daily Telegraph was arrested on Wednesday and led to believe she had been charged with ‘‘publishing false statements prejudicial to the state’’ under the widely condemned new Public Order Security Act.
But the newspaper yesterday said she had been charged with two lesser offences - possessing a car with an incorrect number plate and working illegally as a journalist.
Foreign correspondent David Blair said: ‘‘We’re quite encouraged by this development because the charges have nothing to do with the Public Order Security Act. Her lawyer is confident she will be free in a matter of days.’’
Working illegally as a journalist in Zimbabwe carries a prison term of two years under a controversial new media law brought in by President Robert Mugabe two weeks ago.
Mrs Thornycroft does not have the necessary accreditation but the law gives journalists three months in which to apply for the licence. The car registration charge carries a small fine.
Mr Blair said: ‘‘If the journalism charge gets to court there’s little doubt it will be thrown out straight away.
‘‘There’s always a danger in Zimbabwe of something unexpected happening but it’s likely she will either be let out on Sunday, or more probably on Tuesday.
‘‘She is in reasonably good spirits. She is being treated quite decently and humanely and is being allowed unrestricted access to her lawyer.
‘‘Her arrest is typical of the situation in Zimbabwe. People who are seen as a nuisance by the government are arrested, have various charges laid against them and then after four or five days released. It’s all part of the culture of harassment.’’
Mrs Thornycroft was arrested in Chimanimani, on the border with Mozambique, being moved to the police headquarters in Mutare, 200 miles east of the capital Harare.
She had travelled to Chimanimani to investigate reports of widespread political violence and a campaign of retribution against the opposition.
State radio in Zimbabwe has reported she has already been freed but the newspaper and her lawyer have denied this.
The 57-year-old widow, who has a son, daughter and granddaughter, has been the Telegraph’s Harare correspondent since July. She is a Zimbabwean citizen although she was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire.
The newspaper has asked the Foreign Office for help and sent a fax to the Zimbabwean government calling for her to be freed.
The paper’s editor Charles Moore has also demanded her immediate release.
Her arrest is being seen as a sign of Mr Mugabe’s growing paranoia and indifference to international opinion.
On Thursday, using her lawyer’s mobile telephone, she denied allegations that she had communicated false statements prejudicial to the state.
‘‘I didn’t have a chance to file a word or to do a proper interview with anybody. I had only been there three hours and was having a cup of tea when I was arrested,’’ she said.
