One of the 24 journalists studying at Harvard on a Nieman fellowship is scheduled to return to his native Zimbabwe later this month to face trial and up to seven years in prison for publishing an article that angered his government.

Mark Chavunduka, who began the year-long program for mid-career journalists this fall, and his colleague Ray Choto were arrested and tortured by members of the Zimbabwean military in January.

In early January, Choto wrote an article in the Zimbabwe Standard--a weekly based in the capital city of Harare--about an attempted coup within the Zimbabwe National Army to overthrow the government. Chavunduka is the Standard's editor.

Both were charged with "publishing information likely to cause public alarm and despondency." The law behind this antiquated charge has since been repealed by the Zimbabwean parliament, although the country's president has not yet signed that repeal into law.

Chavunduka is currently out on bail but says he will return to Zimbabwe for his trial, scheduled to begin Oct. 4. He could be saved by Zimbabwe's Supreme Court, which is considering an appeal claiming that the law under which he was charged is unconstitutional.

The 23 other Nieman fellows have joined a chorus of outrage from humanitarian groups and other governments, sending a letter to Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to "express our extreme dismay and disappointment over the unlawful detention, torture and pending trial" of the two journalists.

Arrest, Torture and Trial

Theirs is not the first story of restricted rights and alleged governmental corruption in Zimbabwe since the country gained independence in 1980.

While Mugabe's government came to power promising change and even now is considered one of the most advanced in Africa, it has attracted criticism from other governments for corruption and heavy-handed governance.