Reporters Arrested Over President Mugabe Article

March 23, 2017
41602841 21 02 2017 zimbabwe president mugabe birthday | Report Focus News
41602841 21 02 2017 zimbabwe president mugabe birthday

41602841 21 02 2017 zimbabwe president mugabe birthday | Report Focus News

A lawyer in Zimbabwe says two journalists and a publishing executive have been arrested for an article reporting that the health of 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe is deteriorating.

Human rights lawyer Obey Shava said Friday that the article was published in Zimbabwe’s NewsDay newspaper. The story Thursday mentioned a “fresh health scare.”

Mugabe, who turned 93 last month, flew to Singapore on Wednesday for what his spokesman called a “scheduled medical review.”

Shava says reporter Richard Chidza, editor Wisdom Mudzungairi and executive Sifikile Thabete face a charge of insulting the president.

Shava works for Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, a group that says it has represented nearly 200 people charged with the same crime. People convicted of insulting Mugabe can face jail time, though some cases have been thrown out.

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