Prison officers at Chikurubi maximum prison have been accused of barring Beatrice Mtetwa from seeing incarcerated journalist Hopewell Chin’ono on the basis that she was stopped from representing the award winning report by Harare Magistrates Court.

Speaking to journalists outside Harare Magistrates Court yesterday, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) Director Roseline Hanzi said the prison officers were misinterpreting the court ruling that barred Mtetwa from representing Chin’ono.

“Basically, as you have been following and you understand, we have our lead counsel who was representing Chin’ono being denied audience by the magistrate courts,” said Hanzi.

“She is now being barred from even consulting with her client from prison. It appears that members of the ZPCS (Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services) are now interpreting that lack of audience in court to also apply to other places of detention and facilities.

“They are essentially stripping Chin’ono of his right to legal representation at all levels because, ordinarily, that ruling only applies to the lead counsel not representing him in court,” she added.