A freelance journalist for the New York Times (NYT), Jeffrey Moyo, from Zimbabwe was granted bail on Tuesday.
He was arrested three weeks ago on accusation of assisting two foreign colleagues in fraudulently entering the country.
Moyo who was jailed on May 26, was accused of providing forged media accreditation cards to assist New York Times reporters Christina Goldbaum and Joao Silva in entering Zimbabwe for a week-long assignment.
The 37-year-old was granted bail of ZW$5,000 ($59) bail but was not released as expected, due to technical glitches by court officials, his lawyers said.
“I was sleeping on the concrete floor. My prison cell 36 was so infested with lice and I had a terrible battle with the lice. They were feasting on me. It was really a terrible experience“, Moyo recollects.
The journalist’s family members also endured unbearable pain as a result of his detention.
“Some of the people who used to see my wife, especially the guards, they would come and tell me, ‘your wife is stressed. It seems she has been crying.’ And I’m sure it really drained her emotionally“, he added.
Amanda Sihle Ndlovu, the journalist’s lawyer, expressed her joy at the news of her client’s release on bail.
“I’m very happy this morning to confirm and announce that Jeffrey Moyo has been released from custody after having been granted bail by the High Court of Bulawayo after successfully appealing against a decision by the magistrate at Tredgold”, Ndlovu said.
Tuesday’s decision followed an appeal from a magistrate’s decision last week to deny him bail.
The New York Times stated at the time of Moyo’s detention that it was “deeply concerned” by his arrest.
“Jeffrey is a widely respected journalist with many years of reporting experience in Zimbabwe and his detainment raises troubling questions about the state of press freedom in Zimbabwe,” it had added in a statement.
