Pro-Mugabe journalists sanctioned

HARARE (AP):

The European Union said yesterday that six Zimbabwean state-media journalists are on a sanctions list because their reporting incites hatred that media groups say has led to political violence.

EU Ambassador Aldo Dell'Ariccia said the journalists' work could be seen as an "incitement to hatred".

The journalists who fiercely support President Robert Mugabe are among some 200 individuals linked to Mugabe's party who face banking and travel bans from the EU, the US and Britain. The sanctions were imposed to protest years of rights violations in the southern African nation.

Mugabe called for elections this year to end a shaky coalition with the former opposition. Independent media groups say there has since been a surge in inflammatory reporting in pro-Mugabe media outlets, which has in turn fuelled political violence.