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Amendment
of Public Order and Security Act (POSA)
Media
Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
Extracted from Weekly Media Update 2006-5
Monday
January 30th 2006 – February 5th 2006
THE sincerity
of government’s claims that it intends to reform the country’s repressive
media laws (Zimbabwe Independent 6/1) was exposed by reports
in The Herald and Chronicle (6/2) that Acting President
Joice Mujuru had signed into law the General Laws Amendment Act
which, among other issues, imposes stiffer penalties for breaching
the draconian Public Order and Security Act (POSA).
For example,
those convicted of breaching Section 15 of POSA, which criminalizes
"publishing or communicating false statements prejudicial
to the State" are now liable to a fine of $10 million
or a maximum of five years imprisonment or both. Previously, the
fine was pegged at $100 000.
The Act also
imposes harsh penalties for "undermining the authority
of, or insulting the President", which now attracts
a fine of $2 million up from $20 000 or one year in jail or both.
While the official
dailies presented this development as a mere announcement and censored
the stiff jail sentences in their stories, Studio 7 (8/2) quoted
prominent lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa interpreting the issue as "part
of the continued assault on the freedom of the media in Zimbabwe"
and an attempt to "restrict the flow of information in
the country" to "protect those in power"
who are "making themselves immune from criticism".
Earlier, the
station exposed the continued harassment of members of civic society
and individuals perceived as anti-government.
For example,
it reported (1/2) that the police had arrested students conducting
research for the NGO, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR),
on the effects of Murambatsvina, accusing them of working
"for foreign news organisations".
The students
were reportedly released after the intervention of the ZLHR without
being charged.
The next day
it reported National Constitutional Assembly spokesperson Jessie
Majome accusing the authorities of politicising food aid and farming
inputs claiming those suspected of supporting the opposition MDC
were being denied assistance.
However, Majome
was not challenged to substantiate her allegations.
The government
media steered clear of such issues.
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fact sheet
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