Beatrice Mtetwa, a prominent media lawyer, has defended many journalists in Zimbabwe who have been detained and harassed. In a country where the law is used as a weapon against independent journalists, Mtetwa has defended journalists and argued for press freedom, all at great personal risk.
This year, Mtetwa won acquittals for Toby Harnden and Julian Simmonds, journalists with The Sunday Telegraph of London, who were arrested outside a polling station in Zimbabwe during the April parliamentary election. The government of President Robert Mugabe, which severely restricted independent coverage of the vote, had charged them with working without accreditation.
Mtetwa has worked on behalf of the Daily News, Zimbabwe's sole independent daily newspaper until it was closed by the government in 2003. She continues to defend the newspaper's journalists, many of whom face criminal charges for their work.
In October 2003, Mtetwa was arrested on specious allegations of drunken driving. She was taken to a police station, where she was held for three hours, beaten and choked, then released without charge. Although she was unable to speak for two days as a result of the assault, she returned to the police station on the third day, with medical evidence in hand, to file charges.
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