Mirror Editor Thrown In Cells "For Taking Pictures"
Mirror Assistant Editor, Elizabeth Mashiri refused to pay a fine to Police on Tuesday after she was arrested for allegedly taking pictures of running battles between law enforcement agents and Gweru vendors.
Award-winning Mashiri who was arrested despite producing her Press card insisted that journalism is not a crime and it was not an offence to be present at the scene of the skirmishes.
She also said her rights as a journalist are enshrined in the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
This comes amid the “My Freedom of Information Campaign” that was launched last month by a women’s and girls’ rights organisation, Tag a Life International (TaLI), to raise awareness on the Freedom of Information Act for vulnerable groups and journalists.
The campaign is spearheaded by TaLI, in partnership with Fojo Media Institute, Identities Media TV and the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services.
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Police threw Mashiri into cells threatening to detain her until the next morning when she would go to court but Mashiri remained adamant that she would not pay the fine.
Mashiri was only released from the cells after her lawyer Reginald Chidawanyika said the case was too trivial to detain her overnight and more so when Covid19 is wreaking havoc in the Midlands city.
The Member in Charge Crime Assistant Inspector Chinounye wanted Mashiri to spend the night in the cells for reasons that she had been booked and had already been put in cells.
Police charged her with disorderly conduct and she is going to appear at the Gweru Magistrates Courts on Thursday. Reads her charge sheet:
Disorderly conduct which occurred on the 17th day of August 2021 at Kudzanayi Rank in which it is alleged that you took photos and pictures of Police officers on duty.
Mashiri, however, says she had not taken any pictures by the time she was arrested.
The Mirror reports that Mashiri who is their Midlands bureau chief on Wednesday intended to lodge a complainant against harassment by the Police.
Mashiri accused one of the officers of lifting up her dress during the arrest to the extent of exposing her undergarments.
More: Pindula News
