Zimbabwe expels last Western reporter

President Robert Mugabe expelled the last European reporter from Zimbabwe yesterday under harsh media laws introduced in March.

Stephane Barbier, Harare bureau chief of Agence France-Presse (AFP), has been given until Saturday to leave the country after the government refused to renew his work permit. Mr Barbier's senior correspondent, Griffin Shea, was recently ordered out of Zimbabwe. Other European journalists, including The Daily Telegraph's David Blair and the BBC's Joseph Winter, have already been forced to leave.

Mr Barbier, 43, has worked in Zimbabwe since June 2001. He will move to South Africa.

AFP is expected to maintain an office in Harare, staffed by Zimbabweans.

Bertrand Eveno, AFP's chairman and chief executive, condemned Mr Barbier's expulsion in a letter to the Information Minister, Jonathan Moyo. He said AFP had maintained a regional office in Zimbabwe for 22 years, acting always in good faith and strict compliance with all laws and regulations of Zimbabwe.

Scores of Western journalists have been refused entry to cover specific events in Zimbabwe under the draconian media laws.