Zimbabwean Lawyer Says Reporters Arrested Over Mugabe Article

  • VOA Staff

FILE - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe addresses people at an event before the closure of his party's 16th Annual Peoples Conference in Masvingo, south of the capital Harare.

A lawyer in Zimbabwe says two journalists and a publishing executive have been arrested for an article reporting that the health of 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe is deteriorating.

Human rights lawyer Obey Shava said Friday that the article was published in Zimbabwe's NewsDay newspaper. The story Thursday mentioned a "fresh health scare.''

Mugabe, who turned 93 last month, flew to Singapore on Wednesday for what his spokesman called a "scheduled medical review.''

Shava says reporter Richard Chidza, editor Wisdom Mudzungairi and executive Sifikile Thabete face a charge of insulting the president.

Shava works for Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, a group that says it has represented nearly 200 people charged with the same crime. People convicted of insulting Mugabe can face jail time, though some cases have been thrown out.