Reporter is accused of “Committing Journalism” in Zimbabwe
From the New York Times
Barry Bearak, a news reporter, was imprisoned in Zimbabwe for doing his job--journalism.
I was being charged with the crime of “committing journalism.” One of my captors, Detective Inspector Dani Rangwani, described the offense to me as something despicable, almost hissing the words: “You’ve been gathering, processing and disseminating the news.”And I’d been caught at it red-handed, my notes spread across my desk, my text messages readable on my cellphone, my stories preserved by Microsoft Word in an open laptop.
This guy had two dozen policemen and officials in his hotel room, searching for incriminating evidence. Obviously they found his notes and lappy, but other than that, there wasn't much else.
What would you do if this happened to you? Do you think journalism is the means for capital punishment?