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Alert

Journalists apply for removal from remand

(MISA/IFEX) - On 1 November 2004, a Harare magistrate is expected to rule on whether four journalists who work for the privately-owned "Zimbabwe Independent" newspaper and who are being charged with criminal defamation should be removed from remand.

Magistrate Omega Mugumbati said she would make her ruling after the lawyers representing former "Zimbabwe Independent" editor Iden Wetherell, editor Vincent Kahiya, news editor Dumisani Muleya and reporter Itai Dzamara applied for the accused to be removed from remand.

This comes in the wake of a 10-month remand period without a trial date being set after the four were charged with criminal defamation following the newspaper's publication of a story headlined, "Mugabe Grabs Plane For Far East Holiday".

Kahiya and Muleya were news editor and chief reporter, respectively, at the time of the article's publication. Wetherell is now the publishing company's group projects editor.

In her application, Advocate Edith Mushore, who is representing the four journalists, argued that the chances of her clients being convicted were slim. She contended that they had not defamed President Robert Mugabe as alleged because the story was essentially accurate. The story was published on 9 January. The accused were released on 20,000 ZWD (approx. US$4.00) bail each.

Mushore said that Minister of Information and Publicity Jonathan Moyo should have investigated the facts before ordering the arrest of the "Zimbabwe Independent" journalists.

She said Moyo himself had confirmed that the story was not "fictitious", but then referred to it as being "blasphemous." Mushore said former Air Zimbabwe managing director Rumba Change also confirmed the veracity of the story but tried to downplay it by focusing on protocol matters.