{"id":79583,"date":"2023-06-26T11:29:10","date_gmt":"2023-06-26T09:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/patriot-bill-threat-to-zimbabwean-journalists-two-months-before-elections"},"modified":"2023-06-26T14:48:28","modified_gmt":"2023-06-26T12:48:28","slug":"patriot-bill-threat-to-zimbabwean-journalists-two-months-before-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/patriot-bill-threat-to-zimbabwean-journalists-two-months-before-elections","title":{"rendered":"\u201cPatriot Bill\u201d threat to Zimbabwean journalists two months before elections"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. <\/strong><\/span>TWO months before presidential and parliamentary elections on 23 August, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urges Zimbabwe to abandon a proposed \u201csovereignty and national interest\u201d law that poses a major threat to journalism. Freedom of expression must be safeguarded, RSF says.<\/p>\n

Zanu PF, the party that has ruled Zimbabwe since independence, used its parliamentary majority to get the draconian new bill \u2013 called the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Amendment Bill, or Patriot Bill for short \u2013 passed on the night of 31 May.<\/p>\n

Clause 2 of this loosely worded bill provides for a death sentence or life imprisonment for anyone \u201cwilfully injuring the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe\u201d by attending a meeting when they have \u201creason to believe\u201d that its aim is \u201cto consider or plan armed intervention.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the meeting\u2019s aim is \u201cto subvert or overthrow the government,\u201d participants will face up to 20 years in prison. If sanctions or a commercial boycott of Zimbabwe are discussed, they could get a ten-year sentence.<\/p>\n

Now that it has been approved by the senate, the Patriot Bill \u2013 which could clearly be used to imprison journalists covering meetings \u2013 will take effect as soon as it receives approval from the president, who has three weeks to sign it into law from the moment he receives it.<\/p>\n

\u201cJournalists are exposed to the heavy penalties envisaged in this law, which violates the constitution and international standards on freedom of expression. This law is a formidable tool that will completely muzzle the press. Two months before the presidential and parliamentary elections, we urge the authorities to respect basic human rights, which include the right of assembly, the right to express oneself, and the right to inform. Journalists must be able to carry out their work without fear,\u201d said Sadibou Marong, thedirector of RSF\u2019s sub-Saharan Africa desk.<\/p>\n

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights executive director Roselyn Hanzi said the law \u201cwill set a bad and dangerous precedent on the continent\u201d and could lead to more self-censorship in Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf a journalist is invited to attend a meeting by a foreign government, they may be forced to reject the invite as they will not know if these topics will not be discussed,\u201d she said. \u201cAny other participant at the meeting can raise that subject, and mere attendance may even lead to arrest.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the bill\u2019s provisions are loosely worded, they are liable to be misinterpreted and are therefore all the more likely \u201cto stifle freedom of expression,\u201d Hanzi warned. Some of the provisions violate Zimbabwe\u2019s constitution, article 48 of which limits the death penalty to persons convicted of aggravated murder.<\/p>\n

Hopewell Chin\u2019ono, a journalist who has often been arrested and threatened for criticising the government, condemned the bill when it was passed on 31 May. \u201cA very sad day for Zimbabwe today,\u201d he tweeted. \u201cFree speech is now dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ruling party legislator Joseph Chinotimba insisted that the bill was \u201chonourable and nourished by good intentions.\u201d He said: \u201cThis bill does not aim to reduce the existence of political parties, but to encourage Zimbabweans to love their country and stop denouncing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zimbabwe\u2019s legislation continues to impose heavy restrictions on its media. Some draconian laws were repealed but were replaced by others that are just as harsh and still limit journalistic freedom. To avoid reprisals, journalists routinely censor themselves.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Zimbabwe<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. TWO months before presidential and parliamentary elections on 23 August, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urges Zimbabwe to abandon a proposed \u201csovereignty and national interest\u201d law that poses a major threat to journalism. Freedom of expression must be safeguarded, RSF says. Zanu PF, the party that has ruled Zimbabwe since independence, used its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":79582,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,12],"tags":[1493,2189,19],"class_list":{"0":"post-79583","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-policy","9":"tag-africa-press","10":"tag-africa-press-zimbabwe-2","11":"tag-zimbabwe"},"yoast_head":"\n\u201cPatriot Bill\u201d threat to Zimbabwean journalists two months before elections - zimbabwe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"TWO months before presidential and parliamentary elections on 23 August, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urges Zimbabwe ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/patriot-bill-threat-to-zimbabwean-journalists-two-months-before-elections\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u201cPatriot Bill\u201d threat to Zimbabwean journalists two months before elections\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"TWO months before presidential and parliamentary elections on 23 August, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urges Zimbabwe ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/patriot-bill-threat-to-zimbabwean-journalists-two-months-before-elections\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"zimbabwe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-06-26T09:29:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-06-26T12:48:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2023\/06\/sm_1687767352.121537.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"550\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/patriot-bill-threat-to-zimbabwean-journalists-two-months-before-elections\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/patriot-bill-threat-to-zimbabwean-journalists-two-months-before-elections\",\"name\":\"\u201cPatriot Bill\u201d threat to Zimbabwean journalists two months before elections - 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