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Time reporter arrested in Zim
03/04/2007 14:07 - (SA)
Harare - A British reporter for Time magazine who was arrested in southern Zimbabwe last week for working without a press card has been convicted and fined, reports said on Tuesday.
Alexander Perry, 37, was arrested on Friday near the mining town of West Nicholson while interviewing a small-scale miner on the effects of the government's controversial crackdown on the sector, reports the state-controlled Herald.
Perry pleaded guilty to not working with accreditation from the state-appointed Media and Information Commission (MIC), the paper said. He was convicted by a magistrate in the nearby town of Gwanda on Monday and fined Z$100 (0.40 US), the paper added.
Under Zimbabwe's controversial press law, the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, no journalist is allowed to work without accreditation.
Local reporter also arrested
Meanwhile, a local reporter for the British-based Zimbabwean newspaper was arrested outside his home in the low-income Harare suburb of Sunningdale, the paper's editor said.
Gift Phiri was arrested at the weekend during a police raid on his home, said the editor of the Zimbabwean, Wilf Mbanga in a statement.
Police also took away a computer and cellphone used by the reporter. There has been no official confirmation of Phiri's arrest.
Zimbabwe's media commission has used press laws to close down four independent newspapers, putting many journalists out of work.
Dozens of other reporters have been arrested and foreign correspondents forced to leave the country since the law came into force in 2002.
Sapa-dpa
- SAPA
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