Zimbabwe er the action/activity is of “national interest”. Outcomes of court cases now depend entirely on how the individual judge interprets “the national interest”. SCORES: Individual scores: 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1 Average score: 1.3 1.2 The right to freedom of expression is practised and citizens, including journalists, are asserting their rights without fear. ANALYSIS: The right to express oneself freely depends on where one is, who one is with and what one says. It is easy to communicate freely within one’s group, but difficult when there are people one does not know. One cannot speak freely on the bus or in public or go to the national broadcaster or the media with one’s views, if these are not in line with the views of government. In rural Zimbabwe there is fear of victimisation, fear of disappearance, torture, and violence when one expresses oneself. Journalists and the media are under particular restrictions for various reasons. The state media have to suit the policy makers’ expectations. The independent media live under the threat of being de-registered by the Media and Information Commission, thus they exercise self-censorship for fear of not having their licences renewed. In the courts, there are certain issues that lawyers cannot talk about because they are off limits. Politicians and policy makers are even more restricted than the average citizens, as they cannot openly African Media Barometer - Zimbabwe 2006 5