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Four more ANZ directors arrested
Media Institute of Southern Africa - (Windhoek)
October 27, 2003

At approximately 09h00 today, October 27 2003, police arrested four more directors of the Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ), the publishers of the Daily News and the Daily News on Sunday.

This follows yesterday's arrest of another director, Washington Sansole, at Bulowayo.

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) confirmed that the directors, Mr. Mutsau, Mr. Marchenson, Mr. Sansole and Mr. Kupara, were charged under Section 72 of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) for publishing without a licence.

BACKGROUND
On October 25, the Zimbabwe police shut down the offices of the Daily News, halting operations and detaining staff one day after a court order blocked government efforts to shut it down.

A total of 18 journalists and administrators were also arrested and released after about four hours, but were required to sign statements saying they worked for the newspaper's publisher. They also received a verbal warning not to return to work, newspaper staff said.

The following day, on October 26 2003, police arrested Washington Sansole, a director of the Daily News on charges of operating without a license.

The raid on the Daily News occurred one day after the Harare Administrative Court ordered that the newspaper be granted a new publishing license. The license had not yet been issued, but newspaper executives said they believed the court order was sufficient grounds to resume publication immediately.

The Daily News, closed after a court found it did not have the license required by Zimbabwe's strict new media laws, quickly went to work and rushed out an eight-page edition on Saturday headlined "We Are Back."

The Administrative Court's ruling on October 24 held that the state media commission erred when it rejected a license application by the Daily News. The court ordered that a new commission be appointed and a license granted to the Daily News by November 30. Media commission officials, who argued that the paper's application came too late, said they would appeal against the ruling. The newspaper had initially refused to apply for a license in protest at the new media laws.

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