Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe's highest court yesterday struck down tough media legislation which made it an offence to publish "falsehoods", after the government conceded the provisions were unconstitutional.
The provisions made the publication of "falsehoods" punishable by a heavy fine or a jail term of up to two years irrespective of the circumstances in which a report had been published.
The Supreme Court ruled that the provisions violated the constitution and were "therefore struck down and . . . of no force and effect". Lawyers for President Robert Mugabe's government had conceded the provisions violated constitutional protections of freedom of expression and said the government was amending the law, which had been criticised by human rights advocates.
The law, known as the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act came into effect shortly after Mr Mugabe's controversial re-election in March 2002 which the opposition and Western governments said was marred by fraud.
The court ruled in response to an appeal by two Zimbabwean journalists who were charged last year with publishing a false report.
They had reported that government supporters had beheaded a woman opposition member in front of her two young children. The story was later proved to be false, and the Daily News, which published the report, said it had been misled by the source.
Zimbabwean journalists have filed a number of cases with the Supreme Court challenging various provisions of the media laws, including one which bars foreigners from working permanently as journalists in the country. - (Reuters)