Journalist groups in South Africa and elsewhere on the continent have condemned the "arbitrary" arrest and detention of a leading Swazi editor and one of the kingdom's human rights lawyers.
The groups include the SA National Editors' Forum, the Africa Editors' Forum and the Southern Africa Editors' Forum.
They said yesterday that last week's arrests of Bhekithemba Makhubu, editor of The Nation, a monthly magazine, and of lawyer Thulani Maseko were serious breaches of African Union and international press freedom protocols.
The men's bail hearings were scheduled for today.
They have been charged with scandalising the judiciary and criminal contempt of court after The Nation published two articles by Maseko in February and March in which he raised concerns about judicial independence and integrity in Swaziland.
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