{
  "iso2": "ZW",
  "name": "Zimbabwe",
  "continent": "africa",
  "region": "Eastern Africa",
  "press_freedom": {
    "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
    "rank": 124,
    "year": 2026,
    "of": 180,
    "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 124th of 180",
    "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
  },
  "counts_caveat": "The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.",
  "incident_count": 2,
  "tactics": [
    {
      "slug": "insult_and_defamation_laws",
      "name": "Insult and defamation laws",
      "count": 1,
      "ladder_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/insult_and_defamation_laws"
    },
    {
      "slug": "outlet_licensing",
      "name": "Licensing and closure of outlets",
      "count": 1,
      "ladder_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/outlet_licensing"
    },
    {
      "slug": "secrets_and_espionage_laws",
      "name": "Secrets and espionage laws",
      "count": 1,
      "ladder_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/secrets_and_espionage_laws"
    }
  ],
  "leaders": [
    {
      "slug": "emmerson-mnangagwa",
      "name": "Emmerson Mnangagwa",
      "count": 1,
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/emmerson-mnangagwa"
    },
    {
      "slug": "robert-mugabe",
      "name": "Robert Mugabe",
      "count": 1,
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/robert-mugabe"
    }
  ],
  "incidents_by_year": {
    "2002": [
      {
        "slug": "2002-zimbabwe-aippa-media-licensing",
        "title": "Zimbabwe enacts a law requiring all journalists and media houses to hold government licenses",
        "occurred_on": "2002-03-15",
        "occurred_on_precision": "day",
        "country": "ZW",
        "country_name": "Zimbabwe",
        "continent": "africa",
        "jurisdiction": "ZW",
        "level": "national",
        "tactic_primary": "outlet_licensing",
        "tactics": [
          "outlet_licensing"
        ],
        "leader_slug": "robert-mugabe",
        "leader_name": "Robert Mugabe",
        "issue_of_the_day": "Zimbabwe's contested March 2002 presidential election, in which President Mugabe faced international criticism over the vote's conduct.",
        "outcome": "unknown",
        "outcome_on": null,
        "outcome_note": "The record reviewed documents a 2007 amendment easing individual accreditation but does not establish to day precision when AIPPA's licensing framework was repealed.",
        "stage": "pressure",
        "ladder_note": null,
        "rsf": {
          "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
          "year": 2026,
          "rank": 124,
          "of": 180,
          "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 124th of 180",
          "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
        },
        "era": "2000s",
        "granularity": "anchor",
        "status": "historical",
        "case_count": 0,
        "summary": "Zimbabwe's parliament passed the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), requiring every journalist and media company to obtain a government license renewed every two years, weeks before a closely contested 2002 presidential election.",
        "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2002-zimbabwe-aippa-media-licensing"
      }
    ],
    "2023": [
      {
        "slug": "2023-zimbabwe-patriotic-act-criminalizes-foreign-contact",
        "title": "Zimbabwe's Patriotic Act criminalizes journalists' contact with foreign governments",
        "occurred_on": "2023-07-14",
        "occurred_on_precision": "day",
        "country": "ZW",
        "country_name": "Zimbabwe",
        "continent": "africa",
        "jurisdiction": "ZW",
        "level": "national",
        "tactic_primary": "secrets_and_espionage_laws",
        "tactics": [
          "insult_and_defamation_laws",
          "secrets_and_espionage_laws"
        ],
        "leader_slug": "emmerson-mnangagwa",
        "leader_name": "Emmerson Mnangagwa",
        "issue_of_the_day": "The bill passed weeks before Zimbabwe's August 2023 general election, at a time when the government accused foreign-linked civil-society and media figures of working to undermine it ahead of the vote.",
        "outcome": "sustained",
        "outcome_on": "2023-07-14",
        "outcome_note": "President Mnangagwa signed the bill into law despite CPJ's call for a veto; a court challenge by journalists did not block it.",
        "stage": "punish",
        "ladder_note": null,
        "rsf": {
          "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
          "year": 2026,
          "rank": 124,
          "of": 180,
          "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 124th of 180",
          "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
        },
        "era": "2020s",
        "granularity": "granular",
        "status": "in_effect",
        "case_count": 0,
        "summary": "President Emmerson Mnangagwa signed the Patriotic Act, which criminalizes meeting foreign governments or officials with intent to harm Zimbabwe's sovereignty, with penalties up to death for advocating armed intervention and up to ten years for supporting sanctions, weeks before the country's 2023 general election.",
        "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-zimbabwe-patriotic-act-criminalizes-foreign-contact"
      }
    ]
  },
  "downloads": {
    "csv": "https://thewaronnews.com/countries/zw?format=csv",
    "json": "https://thewaronnews.com/countries/zw.json",
    "md": "https://thewaronnews.com/countries/zw.md"
  },
  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
  }
}