AIPPA law- ‘ Journalist sentenced to 1yr in prison for publishing a newspaper without gvt registration’

A ZIMBABWEAN journalist has been sentenced to a year in jail for publishing a newspaper without government registration, the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) said Friday.

Foster Dongozi, ZUJ secretary-general, said Patrick Chitongo was convicted by a magistrate’s court on Thursday and received a one-year prison sentence.

“It’s a sad day for press freedom when people are jailed for disseminating information,” Dongozi told AFP.

“However, we advise that, much as we disagree with the law which compels journalists to register, those intending to practise or publish should comply to avoid ending up in dicey situations.”

Regional media freedom advocacy group, the Media Institute for Southern Africa (MISA), said Chitongo had been jointly charged with three interns after publishing three issues of a newspaper called The Southern Mirror.

They were charged with breaching the country’s media laws, which forbid “carrying on or operating a mass media service without a valid registration certificate.”

Chitongo’s co-accused were acquitted after the court found that they were college students who did not have a say in the paper’s publication.

Chitongo denied the charges, saying the publications were dummies he intended to hand in to the media commission for registration.

Under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, journalists have to register annually with a government-appointed commission and publishers need to have a registration certificate. by AFP. source-newzimbabwe