Lawyers representing investigative journalist Hopewell Chin’ono, held in prison for more than a month pending trial on charges of inciting violence, will make a fresh attempt to free him this Thursday.
Chin’ono’s defence team is being led by Advocate Taona Nyamakura and consists of Gift Mtisi, Doug Coltart and Roselyn Hanzi.
Chin’ono was arrested without a warrant at his Chisipite home in Harare on 20 July after publishing a series of investigations into corruption in Zimbabwe.
He has since been held at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison in leg irons on the outskirts of the capital, and repeated bail applications have been rejected. One of Chi’ono’s lawyers, Coltart, said:
What we have seen with Hopewell is unprecedented in the last 20 years. The crackdown speaks of a regime that is insecure, unstable and is lashing out against anyone it sees as a threat.
As the government become more and more unpopular, more and more people are going to take action and more of them will become targets of the regime.
Government critics believe that Chin’ono, a respected documentary maker who has worked for a number of international organisations, is being persecuted for exposing government corruption.
Charges against him are based on a series of tweets he sent to encourage citizens to engage in peaceful protests against corruption on 31 July.
Chin’ono faces a lengthy prison sentence if convicted.