FCA slams Zim journo treatment
18/02/2005 20:56  - (SA)  

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Johannesburg - The Foreign Correspondents' Association (FCA) has again condemned the intimidation and harassment of foreign journalists based in Zimbabwe.

"On Monday, Zimbabwean police raided the offices shared by three journalists working for foreign media, without a warrant and against the protests of their lawyer, and seized the hard drives of their computers," FCA vice-chairman Adam Roberts said in a statement on Friday.

The three, Jan Raath, stringer for German Press Agency and The Times of London, Angus Shaw of the Associated Press, and Brian Latham of Bloomberg News, were questioned by the police on Monday along with freelance photographer Tsvangirai Mukwazhi.

Raath has since left the country in fear of his personal safety.

"We believe these recent events are part of a systematic campaign by the Zimbabwean government to stifle the independent press by making it impossible for independent journalists, foreign or local, to report on events there."

Roberts called on the Zimbabwean government to create an environment where journalists could operate without fear of government harassment.

He expressed the hope that foreign reporters would be allowed to enter Zimbabwe and freely report on the country's March elections.

The FCA has previously spoken out about media issues in Zimbabwe.

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