Zimbabwean police dealt a further blow to international media's attempts to cover the country's elections Saturday by shutting down the operations of a company that has been providing satellite feeds for some of the world's biggest media outlets and arresting two of their technicians, according to Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. Alan Hird, Chief Executive Officer of GlobeCast Africa, confirmed that police had arrested two technicians sent from South Africa to operate the truck after they had finished uplinking a transmission in Harare on Thursday night. "They were approached by two police officers and detained," he said. The company's lawyer in Harare said the two South Africans, who are being held at a police station in Harare, were accused of not being properly accredited to work on the elections, Hird said. Hird said, as far as he was concerned, GlobeCast, which regularly provides footage of cricket games in Zimbabwe, had all the necessary accreditation. The company's lawyer had sought, but failed to obtain, a court appearance Friday. He had, however been allowed access to his clients, who had not been badly treated in any way, Hird said. "We just want to get them back home," Hird told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
