File photo of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe
A Zimbabwean state newspaper editor facing charges of subversion and undermining President Robert Mugabe's authority was granted bail by the high court on Thursday under stringent conditions, his lawyer said.
"Mr (Edmund) Kudzayi has been granted $5,200 (3,800 euros) bail," lawyer Admire Rubaya told AFP. "The money is being paid and he will be released today."
The court ordered Kudzayi to report twice a day to police in Harare and not travel more than 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the centre of the capital without a magistrate's permission, Rubaya said.
Kudzayi, editor of the Sunday Mail, was arrested on June 19 and has been detained since then.
The charges against him include calling Mugabe a tyrant and dictator, and alleging that he stole an election victory.
These remarks were allegedly made in 2008 prior to him joining state media this year.
Kudzayi is also facing charges of creating a Facebook account in the name of Baba Jukwa, who has a cult following for his claims to expose secrets of the Mugabe government.
The Facebook account was a hit during elections last year, apparently for dishing dirt on the inner workings of Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party.
Baba Jukwa accused Mugabe of rigging the vote and published cell phone numbers of prominent figures in government, asking people to call them and tell them "we know what is going on".
Kudzayi also faces another charge of keeping ammunition in an unsafe place.
He was appointed editor of the Sunday Mail three months ago but has incurred the wrath of Mugabe, who has ruled the southern African country since independence in 1980, first as prime minister then as president from 1987.
Last month, Mugabe accused his information minister, Jonathan Moyo, of using his influence over the state media to attack rivals within the ruling ZANU-PF party, which is riven by divisions over who should succeed the ageing president.
Moyo has fallen in and out of favour with Mugabe since first becoming information minister in 2002.
He was sacked in 2005 after being linked to a clandestine meeting held to discuss Mugabe's succession.
Since his recent re-appointment, Moyo has overseen the hiring of new editors at state newspapers and suspended the head of the state broadcasting company.