BBC Reporter's Deportation Order Extended to FridayZimbabwe's Justice Ishmael Chatikobo Sunday extended the deportation order given to British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reporter Joseph Winter by the Zimbabwean Immigration Office to Friday.Winter had been given 24 hours on Saturday to leave the country by the Immigration Office following alleged irregularities when he acquired an extension to his work permit. Chatikobo ordered state officials not to interfere with Winter and his property in a judgment made in the High Court in Harare which had been consented to by Winter's lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa and Loice Matanda-Moyo of the Attorney General's Office. The Information and Publicity Department of Zimbabwe Saturday said Winter's application had been irregularly processed by an official of the then Information, Posts and Telecommunication Ministry. Winter Sunday said the extension would give him time to consider whether to challenge the deportation order. "I challenged this order for me to leave in 24 hours because there was no time for me to prepare for the deportation," said Winter. "I am not sure yet of what action to take yet, but I am still deciding on what to do." Winter had been working as a BBC World Service correspondent in Harare for four years and his work permit had been extended last month to February 2002. |
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