Zimbabwe’s Daily News has begun publishing again after police were told by the courts to leave its premises.
The paper has been restricted to publishing 16-page editions because police have held on to 136 computers seized when The Daily News was shut down last September.
It is also facing a legal challenge from the Zimbabwean Government against the court’s decision to allow it to publish.
The Daily News was back on the country’s news-stands on 22 January, a day after police left its premises for the first time since it was shut down in September.
The newspaper’s return followed an order to police by the Zimbabwe High Court – the third issued in a month – to allow the paper to resume publishing.
The order told police to stop interfering with publishing and leave the Harare premises of the paper.
Zimbabwe’s information minister, Jonathan Moyo, has subsequently issued warnings vowing to bar the paper’s reporters from writing and publishing until they register with a government-appointed commission.
“The law must be enforced – and it will be enforced. No unaccredited journalist will be allowed to operate and no unregistered media house will be allowed to publish. That’s really the bottom line,” he said.
Moyo and the Government’s Media and Information Commission have filed an urgent application at the High Court seeking an order to prevent The Daily News from publishing.
By Jon Slattery
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog