Lusaka
—The
Committee
to
Protect
Journalists
calls
on
Zimbabwean
authorities
to
release
journalist
Gideon
Madzikatidze
who
has
been
in
detention since
February
18,
on
charges
of
cyberbullying
and
broadcasting
without
a
license,
over
an
article
alleging
bribery
by
a
local
business.
“Zimbabwean
authorities
should
not
use
licensing
regulations
or
cybercrime
provisions
to
censor
or
criminalize
legitimate
journalism,”
said
CPJ
Africa
Director
Angela
Quintal.
“Keeping
a
journalist
in
detention
for
more
than
a
week
over
their
reporting
is
a
totally
disproportionate
response.
Authorities
should
free
Gideon
Madzikatidze,
drop
all
charges
against
him,
and
allow
journalists
to
work
without
fear
of
arrest.”
Madzikatidze,
a
reporter
with
the
online
news
site Bulawayo24,
is
set
to
appear
at
the
capital’s
Harare
Magistrate’s
Court
on
February
25
for
a
bail
application
hearing,
the
journalist’s
lawyer
Godwin
Giya
told
CPJ.
“The
state
is
opposing
our
bail,
but
we
are
back
in
court
on
Wednesday,”
he
said,
adding
that
the
magistrate
had
been
absent
from
Monday’s
hearing.
The
charge
sheet,
reviewed
by
CPJ,
alleges
that
between
December
15
and
16,
the
journalist
published
a
story
on
the Bulawayo24 site,
accusing
local
company
Geo
Pomona
Waste
Management’s
leadership
of
bribing
journalists
and
editors
to
evade
scrutiny.
If
found
guilty,
Madzikatidze
could
serve
up
to
10
years
in
prison
and/or
a fine of
up
to
$700
for
cyberbullying,
under the
Criminal
Law
(Codification
and
Reform)
Act,
and
up
to
three
months
imprisonment
and/or
a
fine
of
up
to
$700,
under
Section
7(1)
of
the Broadcasting
Services
Act,
according
to
Giya
and
the
press
freedom
group Media
Institute
of
Southern
Africa-Zimbabwe.
A
person
familiar
with
the
case
told
CPJ,
on
condition
of
anonymity,
citing
fear
of
reprisals,
that
it
was
unclear
why
authorities
were
charging
Madzikatidze
under
a
section
of
the
law
that
criminalizes
airing
of
television
and
radio
programming
without
a
license
as
the
story
was
only
published
on
a
website.
The
Bulawayo
24
site,
named
after
Zimbabwe’s
second
largest
city,
has
provided
domestic
and
international news
coverage for
over
a
decade.
CPJ’s
requests
for
comment
via
phone
to
Geo
Pomona’s
legal
representative,
Dorothea
Moyo,
and
via
phone
and
messaging
app
to
police
spokesperson
Paul
Nyathi
were
not
immediately
answered.
Post
published
in:
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