Judge acquits two reporters

A judge acquitted New York Times correspondent Barry Bearak and British reporter Stephen Bevan of covering Zimbabwe’s presidential election illegally.

Magistrate Gloria Takwunda said the state “failed dismally to prove that there was reasonable suspicion of them practicing as journalists.”

The New York Times said on its website that Bearak had left the country.

Police, meanwhile, arrested 36 people for allegedly using violence in trying to enforce a nationwide strike, and doctors reported treating dozens of patients showing signs of assault and torture since the contentious election last month. President Robert Mugabe is believed to have lost, but results have been withheld.