ZIMBABWE: Police in Zimbabwe have arrested Andrew Meldrum, a journalist who has reported for The Irish Times and who works for the Guardian, and charged him yesterday over a story alleging that a woman had been beheaded by supporters of President Robert Mugabe.
Later in the day, Mr Mugabe's government hailed Zimbabwe's election to the UN Commission on Human Rights this week as a "victory" over Britain and its allies, state media said.
Some Western nations criticised Mr Mugabe for rights abuses in a bid to secure his controversial re-election in March, as the country reels from economic crisis and faces food shortages.
Zimbabwe's main trade union warned at a May Day rally that it would launch a series of general strikes to protest worsening living standards.
Mr Meldrum, a permanent Zimbabwe resident, was picked up by police at around 7.40 a.m. at his home in the capital Harare, his wife Dolores said.
"It's about the same story that they arrested the Daily News reporters for yesterday," she said, referring to the Tuesday arrest of two reporters from Zimbabwe's independent Daily News, which first carried the beheading story on April 23rd.
Mr Meldrum's lawyer, Ms Beatrice Mtetwa, said her client, like Lloyd Mudiwa and Collin Chiwanza of the Daily News, had been charged under new legislation that imposes tight controls on the media.
The three men are accused of contravening a clause of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Bill under which a journalist found to have published "falsehoods" faces a fine of up to Z$100,000 (€2020) or up to two years in jail.
Police were not available for comment. Ms Mtetwa said that a High Court judge would hear an urgent appeal yesterday to have Mr Meldrum released and the charges against him thrown out.
"I don't see how the police can say he has committed a crime when they have not interviewed the source of the story. There is no basis for the charge against him," she said.
Daily News lawyer Mr Lawrence Chibwe said he would seek a court order releasing Mr Mudiwa and Mr Chiwanza.
The Guardian editor, Alan Rusbridger, condemned Mr Meldrum's arrest and called on the government to release him and drop charges against him and the Daily News journalists.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said last week Brandina Tadyanemhandu was killed in Magunje in front of her two daughters, citing the woman's husband. The MDC blamed supporters of Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF.