HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) – A Zimbabwean magistrate Thursday denied bail to an investigative journalist who has been in detention for more than a week for alleging corruption in the country’s prosecuting agency, sending him back to a harsh prison in which he recently spent six weeks on a separate charge.
Hopewell Chin’ono is being charged with obstruction of justice arising from a tweet he made alleging corrupt practices within Zimbabwe’s National Prosecuting Authority. He faces up to a year in jail or a fine if convicted. Prosecutors dropped a separate charge of contempt of court.
Chin’ono was denied bail on the grounds that he could commit other offenses if released. The magistrate cited a pending case in which he is accused of tweeting support for an anti-government protest.
“The accused is not a good candidate for bail,” magistrate Marehwanazvo Gofa said.
Chin’ono recently spent nearly six weeks in the harsh Chikurubi prison on accusations of supporting an anti-government protest. He was released on bail in September pending trial, which has been set for December.