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Washington, D.C., March 28, 2002 - Robert Reilly, the director of the Voice of America, denounced the arrest on March 27 in Zimbabwe of Peta Thornycroft, a VOA stringer and award-winning journalist, as "a cynical attack by the authorities there against freedom of the press." The authorities in Zimbabwe told Mrs. Thornycroft that she will be charged with "publishing false statements likely to be prejudicial to state security" under Zimbabwe's new security law. Reilly said, "There was no basis for these charges," and he added "that such actions will not deter VOA from accurately reporting developments in Zimbabwe and elsewhere." Instead, he continued, "The arrest of Mrs. Thomycroft only underscores the importance of international broadcasting in bringing accurate news and information to people whose governments seek to deny them access to such material."

The Voice of America, which first went on the air on Feb. 24, 1942, is a multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. Government. VOA broadcasts 1,000 hours of news, information, educational, and cultural programming every week to a worldwide audience of 94 million. Programs are produced in English and 52 other languages.

For additional information, please contact the Office of External Affairs at (202) 619-2538 or send email to pubaff@voa.gov.