Government action against the opposition newspaper, The Post, appears to be part of "a politically motivated attempt...to silence a persistent critic to hold on to power" in this week's election, says a new report.
The Vienna-based International Press Institute and the Nairobi-based African Media Initiative sent an emergency mission to Zambia last month to investigate the pressure faced by the daily newspaper.
In a news release, the IPI said the Post's office and printing press in Lusaka had been seized by revenue authorities and other attempts were being made to to hinder its ability to continue publishing.
It said the Zambia Revenue Authority said the seizure is intended to collect money the Post owes for unpaid VAT receipts and employee income tax remittances. But the Post disputes this.
The IPI said the report finds that "the overwhelming pattern of government conduct... conclusively demonstrates that this case is not about the timely and proper collection of taxes."
Steven Ellis, IPI's director of advocacy and communications, said the case "could have an extremely negative impact on democracy in the region, insofar as other leaders might take note and seek to misuse state power to similar ends".
The IPI said the revenue authority had for weeks defied an order by the Tax Appeals Tribunal to turn the seized premises over to The Post and to allow it to resume printing. "The Post continues to publish in secret, but those helping it to do so have faced harassment and intimidation," the IPI said.
