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Alert

Prosecutors refuse to release two British journalists from custody

(MISA/IFEX) - Zimbabwean prosecutors have refused to release two British journalists, using special powers to override a magistrate's order granting them bail.

At a 4 April 2005 hearing, Magistrate Never Diza had set bail of one million Zimbabwe dollars (approx. US$165) each for Toby Harnden, chief foreign correspondent for the "Sunday Telegraph", and his photographer colleague Julian Simmonds.

Prosecutors, who had argued against bail, immediately invoked a section of Zimbabwe's Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act, which set aside the magistrate's order and gave the government seven days to appeal against bail. The two journalists were taken to an awaiting truck and transported to a Harare prison.

Harnden and Simmonds were arrested in Norton, 40 km outside Harare, on 31 March, the day Zimbabwe held parliamentary elections. The pair were charged with covering the election without state accreditation, as required under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA).