Zimbabwe April 2005 |
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| British journalists cleared, (The Herald, 2005-04-16):-The two British journalists who were on Thursday acquitted of covering the recent parliamentary elections illegally, without accreditation were yesterday cleared of the remaining charge of overstaying in Zimbabwe. The two Sunday Telegraph correspondents, Julian Simmonds (45) and Tobby Harden (35) had pleaded not guilty to two charges of breaching the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) and the Immigrations Act, when their trial opened at Norton Magistrates' Court two weeks ago. Speaking to journalists after his acquittal Harden said: " I am pleased that justice has been done in court. We are looking forward to going back to Britain and be with our families and get on with our lives." Magistrate, Mr. Never Diza on Thursday, acquitted the two of the charges under AIPPA at the close of the State's case due to lack of evidence. However, after a full trial on the remaining charge of overstaying their visas Mr. Diza acquitted the pair on the basis that the State did not put up a solid case against the two. In his ruling Mr. Diza said the Immigration Officers who were called to testify in the case made numerous concessions that exonerated the scribes on the expiry of their visas. "The court is left with no option but to give the accused the benefit of the doubt," said Mr. Diza. He noted, in his judgment, that there was nothing on the visas that reflected the dates on which the scribes' stay would expire as the portions were left blank. The magistrate said the Immigration officers also conceded that only experts would be able to read the journalists' period of stay on their visas. "Further, a police officer who arrested them was (given) the passports and only preferred a charge of breaching AIPPA," said Mr Diza. "The point is that even the policemen could not tell whether the accused had overstayed." The court accepted the scribes' assumption that they had been granted 14 days, and this was bolstered by an air ticket shown to the court reflecting that they would depart after two weeks. So, the onus to prove that accused committed a crime lay with the State. "It must, in a criminal case, be proved beyond reasonable doubt and not on a mere probability," Mr. Diza said. Mr. Diza immediately placed the two in the custody of the Immigrations Office. The State represented by prosecutor Mr. Albert Masamha had alleged the scribes breached the Immigrations Act following their arrest on March 31 in Norton.According to the State the scribes' permits to stay in the country expired on March 28. | |
South African Migration Project (SAMP) - Queen's University - http://www.queensu.ca/samp |