HARARE – Freelance photojournalist Andrison Manyere was on Tuesday released from police custody a day after he was arrested for taking pictures of six alleged coup plotters as they were being brought to court where they were appearing on a separate charge of attempting to escape from jail.

Lawyer Harrison Nkomo said photojournalist Andrison Manyere was released after paying a US$20 admission of guilt fine for contravening a section of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.

“The charge has to do with disorderly conduct likely to cause breach of peace at a public place. They have been trying hard to get a charge against him but as a face-saver they settled for the disorderly charge but in a nutshell there was no offence committed. We ended up paying the fine for the sake of his freedom,” said Nkomo.

He said Manyere never entered the court building to take pictures but was doing it from the car park which is not criminal.

Manyere was initially charged with contravening the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) by taking pictures of a protected building without first seeking permission.

Under POSA, citizens including journalists must first seek clearance to film or take pictures of public buildings such as the courts, Parliament or the Munhumutapa offices of President Robert Mugabe.

The photojournalist spent Monday night at the notorious Harare Central police station and was only released towards lunch time on Tuesday after paying the fine.

“I was just doing my job but I don’t know why they arrested me. I wanted the pictures to go with my story. It’s very unfortunate that I had to spend the whole night in custody for doing my job,” said Manyere upon his release from police cells.

Manyere was first apprehended by prison guards at the Harare magistrates’ court for shooting pictures of the of six men, who are accused of plotting to overthrow Mugabe more than three years ago.

The prison officers accused Manyere of violating the Prisons Act by taking pictures of the suspects without permission, an accusation the journalist vehemently denied, telling the officers he was merely doing his job and wanted the pictures for a story he was doing.

The prison officers detained Manyere in holding cells at the courts before handing him over to the police.

The arrest of Manyere shows how journalism in Zimbabwe remains a risky and dangerous operation despite promises by the unity government of Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to ensure freedom of the press as well as other basic freedoms and rights.

Mugabe and Tsvangirai undertook in the power-sharing agreement that gave birth to their coalition government to restore democracy in Zimbabwe and to ensure respect for human rights including press freedom.

The former foes also undertook to reform the police and other security arms of government to ensure they respect and uphold the rights of citizens.