Zimbabwe charges two foreigner journalists

Two foreign journalists, including a New York Times correspondent, have been charged with violating the country's media laws, a police spokesman said on Friday.

"They are being charged with working without accreditation, they should appear in court tomorrow (Saturday)," said the spokesman, Wayne Bvudzijena.

The New York Times said its reporter, Barry Bearak, who is based in neighbouring South Africa, was taken into custody from his hotel in the capital, Harare, where he is covering the country's election. The police have not revealed the identity of the other foreign journalist. Both were arrested on Thursday night.

Human Rights Watch said in a statement it was concerned that the reporters were being held, and called on the Zimbabwean authorities to "immediately allow lawyers to see the two journalists."

Zimbabwean authorities are also holding another American, while two other U.S. citizens have been freed, the State Department said on Friday.

The other American is a senior program officer with the National Democratic Institute, a U.S. organization that monitors elections worldwide and promotes democracy. The institute said Dileepan Sivapathasundaram was arrested on Thursday at Harare airport. After more than 22 hours during which authorities said he was not being held, Sivapathasundaram was finally tracked down to Harare's central police station where U.S. diplomats and Zimbabwean human rights lawyers were briefly allowed to see him on Friday, the institute said.

State Department spokesman Tom Casey, who declined to release the names of those held because of U.S. Privacy Act concerns, called for their immediate release. He said U.S. consular officials had visited the Americans, jailed on Thursday. "They have not been mistreated...as far as I am aware," said Casey. "They were picked up for no legitimate reason."