Zimbabwe human rights attorney awarded

A Zimbabwe human rights attorney who defends jailed journalists, Beatrice Mtetwa will be honored by an American University, Case Western Reserve University (Ohio) with its its annual $25,000 ethics prize.

The university said Thursday that Beatrice Mtetwa will be honored with its 2011 Inamori Ethics Prize in September on the Cleveland campus.

The award honors outstanding international ethical leaders. Past winners include Ireland's first female president, Mary Robinson.

The Committee to Protect Journalists presented Mtetwa with its International Press Freedom Award in 2008 for aiding journalists jailed or threatened by the government of President Robert Mugabe.

Zimbabwean journalists have faced arrest and harassment for the past decade.

Western critics and political rivals have complained about Mugabe's authoritarian rule. Mugabe's party and state media have mounted a campaign to discredit them.