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Politicians and civil society have welcomed the release of Zimbabwean journalist Hopewell Chin’ono, who spent at least six weeks in prison.
He was arrested at his home in Harare in July after denouncing alleged government corruption. He was charged with inciting public violence after he allegedly called on Zimbabweans to join planned anti-corruption protests on July 31. He has previously denied the charge.
According to The Guardian, the Harare High Court released him on Wednesday, on a $ 10,000 (R475) bond. The bail conditions include that you are not allowed to post on social media and that you must report to the police station twice a week.
Chin’ono was released hours after the same court granted a $ 600 bond to Jacob Ngarivhume, leader of the opposition Transform Zimbabwe party. The couple were arrested the same day. Ngarivhume is also prohibited from using social media until the matter is finalized.
Chin’ono told reporters that he was not feeling well and was waiting for the results of the Covid-19 test.
Melanie Robinson, the UK ambassador to Zimbabwe, said that freedom of expression and the right to peaceful protest must be protected, as they are enshrined in the Zimbabwe constitution.
The US embassy in Zimbabwe called for the release of other activists who were jailed for exercising their rights.
These are some of the Twitter reactions:
