Opponents of Mugabe arrested in crackdown
Davison Maruziva, editor of the Standard, was taken by police from the newspaper’s office yesterday, the paper’s publisher said.
Lawyer Harrison Nkomo was arrested in central Harare on Wednesday.
Maruziva was accused of publishing “false statements prejudicial to the state”, said Iden Wetherell, group editor of the Standard.
Nkomo faces charges of “insulting or undermining the authority of the head of state”, monitoring group Human Rights Watch said.
Maruziva, a veteran Zimbabwean journalist in his 50s, was also accused of contempt of court for publishing an article by opposition leader Arthur Mutamabara.
Mutamabara criticised the election and wrote of irregularities in the conduct of the March 29 election by Mr Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party, the courts and judicial officials.
He also accused Mugabe of betraying the nation’s independence and coercing voters through violence and vote rigging.
“This latest arrest represents a most serious attack on press and political freedom in Zimbabwe,” Wetherell said.
Nkomo is the first lawyer arrested for alleged opposition activities in a crackdown.
He recently secured bail for two journalists, one of whom works for the opposition. It was while representing these clients that Nkomo allegedly told a staff member at the attorney general’s office, a nephew of Mugabe, that the President should leave office.
A 2002 law makes it a crime in Zimbabwe to criticise the President or his office.
As Zimbabwe awaits word on when a presidential run-off election will be held, opposition party supporters are increasingly under attack.
