Three Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe (MMPZ) employees were released Wednesday last from detention without charges being laid, according to the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA). Abel Chikomo, Maureen Kademaunga and Abel Kaingidza were arrested and detained for three nights by Binga Police in Zimbabwe's Matabeleland North province before their release.
The three, together with another 10 members of the MMPZ's Public Information Rights Forum (PIRF), were arrested on June 8 by police who accused them of holding a public meeting without prior clearance.
MMPZ co-ordinator Andy Moyse said all had been released and that the state had indicated that it would proceed by way of summons. Moyse told MISA-Zimbabwe that the meeting in question was not a public meeting but a professional meeting which did not require notification or clearance with the police under the terms of the Public Order and Security Act (POSA).
Moyse said their lawyers only managed to access the detained MMPZ employees and its PIRF members on June 10, following the intervention of police officers from the law and order section of the Hwange Police station.
MMPZ is an independent trust that promotes freedom of expression and responsible journalism in Zimbabwe. It does this through monitoring and analysis of news and current affairs produced by both the print and electronic media and its findings are made public through publication of weekly media updates
