Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF), in a letter to Emmerson Mnangagwa, President of Zimbabwe has expressed concern over the assault on two journalists by police officers.
PPF Secretary General Owais Aslam Ali condemned the continued attacks on journalists and media practitioners in Zimbabwe and called on the authorities to look into this matter and punish those officers involved behind assaulting journalists.
According to Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), the Zimbabwe Republic Police officers beaten and detained Hubert Sithole and Panashe Makuta, reporter and photojournalists with online newspaper Mail & Telegraph.
Elias Mambo, editor of the online publication said that both reporter and cameraman were covering the intraparty clashes among MDC Alliance supporters. The supporters headed by Warship Dumbo filed a complaint at the Harare Central Police station.
Both journalists followed them to cover the clashes to the Harare Central Police station where the other supporters had gone to file a report.
At the station’s car park the officers started assaulting Sithole and Makuta even after both identified themselves as journalists.
During the detention the officers also seized the equipment’s of both journalists. Later the journalists were released but their equipment’s were not returned.
