tarca (The Mayor), was sentenced to a 16-month suspended prison term and ordered to pay damages of 150,000 Meticals (US$4884) in criminal libel case. Chabane published a series of columns in the spring of 2011 that criticized the Beira International Primary School for not granting access to Aisling Binda, a fourth-grader who is in a wheelchair, alleging that the school had not built a handicapped access ramp in compliance with a 2008 Mozambican children’s rights law. The school later expelled the student, citing academic performance and other reasons. The parents have said the expulsion was in retaliation for their complaint about the school’s lack of handicapped access. The lawyer for the primary school, António Jorge Ucocho, filed a complaint accusing Chabane, who is also a reporter for TVM, of defaming both the school and himself and for “abusing freedom of the press.” The journalist’s stories had included daily updates on the number of days that Binda had missed school. Mozambique does not have a law on access to information, which poses additional problems in accessing official information by not only journalists but also citizens themselves. State institutions are generally regarded as the least transparent and least credible. Should the law access to information be debated and approved in 2013, its implementation and regulation has the potential to mitigate this negative aspect. 6R7KLVLV'HPRFUDF\" 7KHQHZIRUPVRIFHQVRUVKLS Although the 1991 Press Law liberalised ownership of the media, it forbade the publication of defamatory reports about the presidency or any other foreign head of state visiting Mozambique, even if such reports were true. In recent years, the government has often invoked this provision of the law to crack down on journalists (infoasaid 2012). However, the government does not openly censor media outlets, but it often uses other more subtle ways to limit criticism. The four strategies the government uses to do this include: a) The withdrawing of public sector advertising from publications whose message it does not agree with. Because media business essentially depends on advertising, with the state being the largest customer, locking in advertising is the primary means used by the government to “discipline” apparently irreverent media. b) “Rewarding” publications that sup