Journalist in the dock on smuggling charges

New York Times freelance journalist Jeffrey Moyo has entered a not guilty plea in a case where he's accused of smuggling two colleagues into the country last year. Moyo is being represented by human rights lawyers Douglas Coltart and Beatrice Mtetwa who said they were ready for trial, and that further delays would be a travesty to justice. On 26 May last year, Moyo was arrested with his co-accused, Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) official Thabang Manhika, for allegedly processing fake accreditations for Christina Goldbaum and João Silva who flew from Johannesburg to Bulawayo. A report on the News24 site notes that Manhika will go to court separately on 24 January to face charges of providing fake accreditation. Their case has drawn international attention, with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) describing the matter as ‘astounding’. ‘CPJ again urges prosecutors to finally withdraw the charges against Moyo. Failing to do so would simply reinforce perceptions that the prosecutors are acting in bad faith and are using Moyo as an example to censor and intimidate the press in Zimbabwe,’ said CPJ's Africa Programme Co-ordinator Angela Quintal.