ZIMBABWE:Two journalists beaten and detained for 48 hours by police

MARCH 11, 2007
Posted March 21, 2007

Tsvangirai Mukwazhi, Freelance
Tendai Musiyu, Freelance

ATTACKED, HARASSED

Photojournalist Mukwazhi and television producer Musiyu were stopped by police while driving to cover a gathering of the opposition MDC party in the capital Harare, Mukwazhi later told CPJ. The journalists were ordered to exit their car and lie face down on the ground before being beaten with wooden sticks and handcuffed, he said. Police also seized the car, cell phones, cameras and a laptop, he said.

Mukwazhi and Musiyu were taken to separate police stations in Harare and repeatedly beaten, before being released without charge two days later, according to Mukwazhi and the Media Institute of Southern Africa. The car and equipment were not returned, Mukwazhi said.