Barry Bearak, New York Times Correspondent Jailed In Zimbabwe, Released On Bail

Huffington Post via AFP, New York Times   |   April 7, 2008 01:21 PM


Show your support.
Buzz this article up.

Agence France-Presse reported earlier today that jailed New York Times correspondent Barry Bearak was released on bail in Zimbabwe:

A Zimbabwean court released Monday a US journalist and a British national on bail after charging them with reporting on the March 29 elections without accreditation, their lawyer said.


"They have both been released on 300 million dollars bail," lawyer Harrison Nkomo told journalists outside the court. The bail amount is equivalent to 10,000 US dollars according to the official exchange rate.


He said New York Times correspondent Barry Bearak, 58, and a 45-year-old British national had been told to reappear in court on Thursday and ordered to stay in Harare.


The pair were arrested at a Harare guest house on Thursday and have spent four nights behind bars.


Bearak, who won a Pulitzer prize in 2002 for his reporting from Afghanistan, has been ordered to stay at the US embassy and the Briton at a medical clinic after he slipped and injured his back in jail, Nkomo said.

The New York Times confirms the report, writing:

A New York Times journalist jailed for covering the elections in Zimbabwe without government permission was arraigned and released on bail on Monday, according to one of his lawyers, Harrison Nkomo....


Mr. Bearak and a British citizen -- who was also granted bail on Monday -- had been held in custody since the raids, accused of violating the country's strict journalism laws. Three judges have refused to hear Mr. Bearak's case so far, his Zimbabwean lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, told reporters outside a courthouse in Harare on Monday. But Mr. Bearak was granted a court date for Thursday, Mr. Nkomo.


Under the terms of his bail, Mr. Bearak was released to a clinic; he suffered some injuries as the result of a fall from the concrete bunk in his cell to the concrete floor, seven feet below. Mr. Bearak's passport was confiscated and he was required to put up 300 million Zimbabwean dollars as bail, about $10,000 at official exchange rates but only about $6 at black market rates.

Read the entire AFP report here or the entire NYT report here.

 

Comments
5
Pending Comments
0

Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to

Hint sample
View Comments:

nytimes says "$7 at black market rates." now not 6$

favoriteFavorite Flag as abusive Posted 09:48 PM on 04/07/2008

4/7/08
6:40pm
Alexandria, VA

Glad to hear he is OK--or at least out of jail. Is there anything we can do to help?

favoriteFavorite Flag as abusive Posted 06:40 PM on 04/07/2008

To break up the snark fest, I'm grateful that he got out alive. Now back to the snark fest. Yes, I'm jealous since I've use my ration of snarky comments gor the day & it isn't 3:00 PM, ET yet. But I'm still glad that he is free & alive.
larry lynch

favoriteFavorite Flag as abusive Posted 02:45 PM on 04/07/2008

???????????Is Harrison Nkomo any relation to Joseph Nkorno.......................from who Mugabi wrestled power in 1980????????

favoriteFavorite Flag as abusive Posted 02:36 PM on 04/07/2008

He looks like Cat Stevens.

favoriteFavorite Flag as abusive Posted 01:38 PM on 04/07/2008
Comments are closed for this entry

You must be logged in to reply to this comment. Log in

 

Popular Stories on HuffPost
M.S. Bellows, Jr. Clinton's Open Letter To Obama On MI and FL

On a day when it appears that the Michigan controversy may be resolved in a way...

Obama Vice President Picks: Who Are The Frontrunners?

With the Democratic nomination now in its endgame, it's time to speculate on...

Obama Suggests Offer Maybe Clinton Can't Refuse

On Friday, Barack Obama publicly raised the possibility of helping Hillary Clinton pay...

Bill Clinton's Angry Confrontation With Voter (VIDEO)

From "CBS News RAW": While campaigning in Fayetteville, W.Va., Bill Clinton argued with...

Eva Mendes Topless And Toe Sucking In New Photoshoot (PICTURES)

Actress and Calvin Klein spokeswoman Eva Mendes posed for a provocative photospread in the...

Obama Campaign Launches "Vote For Change" Voter Registration Drive

Today, May 10, marks the first day of what the Obama campaign is calling its "Vote For...

Nancy Pelosi Cuts Short Press Conference, Makes "Beeline" For Obama During His DC Visit

CBS caught Senator Obama on Capitol Hill in a swarm of...

"Saturday Night Live's" Message From Hillary Clinton: "I Have No Ethical Standards" (VIDEO)

Last night's all new "Saturday Night Live"

Clinton Supporters Send Last-Ditch Obama Attack Emails To Supers

As the Democratic primary nears its long-awaited conclusion, undecided superdelegates have...

Al Meyerhoff McCain to Me in 1999: Bush "As Dumb as a Stump"

As a lawyer might say (OK, I am one), I have no personal knowledge of whether John or...

Arianna Huffington Truth Alert: McCain's Freudian Slip is Showing (and Very Telling)

At the same time that former West Wingers...

Kevin Phillips Washington's Great "No Inflation" Hoax

Billionaire California bond manager Bill Gross calls it "a haute con job." Bloomberg...

Related Tags
 

 Site  Web ASK_logo