Zimbabwe's attorney general has concluded that there is no case against two foreign journalists who were arrested for operating without accreditation, their lawyer said on Friday.

"The attorney general's office says there is no case to answer," lawyer Harrison Nkomo said.

"Legally, this means the attorney general's office has refused to prosecute them on those particular charges and this means they should be released.

"What we do not know is whether the police are going to release them or they will prefer other charges."

New York Times correspondent Barry Bearak (58), and a 45-year-old journalist from Britain were both detained on Thursday during a raid on a Harare guest house and later charged with breaching the country's tough media laws.

Police say the reporters had been trying to cover the country's general election without authorisation.

Earlier on Friday, national police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena told AFP: "They have both been charged for practising without accreditation, but the other two will be released soon after screening."

Zimbabwean authorities barred most foreign media from covering last Saturday's general elections and had warned they would deal severely with journalists who sneaked into the country.

However, a number of news organisations, including the BBC, have been filing reports from correspondents operating under cover.

President Robert Mugabe's government passed a media law on the eve of the last presidential elections in 2002 which has been invoked to expel foreign correspondents and shut down at least four independent newspapers.

The six-day silence on the official outcome of the presidential poll has led to much speculation, with the capital Harare growing increasingly tense.

New York Times executive editor Bill Keller confirmed Thursday that Bearak, who won a Pulitzer prize in 2002 for his reporting from war-torn Afghanistan, had been detained.

"We are making every effort to ascertain his status, to assure that he is safe and being well treated, and to secure his prompt release," Keller said.

John Clandy, spokesman for European Union Development Commissioner Louis Michel, told journalists in Brussels the arrest of journalists was cause for concern "when they are carrying out their work in the proper manner."

United States National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said journalists "should be permitted to do their work," while a leading US press freedom group called for the immediate release of those arrested.

"In light of the political situation, it is imperative that all journalists, foreign and domestic, be allowed to work freely," said Joel Simon, the executive director of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.

"We call on authorities to immediately release all journalists currently being held."

Another press freedom lobby group, Reporters Without Borders, called for action from African observers, saying in a statement the arrests revived fears Mugabe planned to use force to hold on to power.

"Those who want to maintain calm in Zimbabwe should understand that this kind of raid now belongs to the past and that journalists who were just doing their job should not be in detention," it added.

Despite mediation efforts leading to an amendment of restrictive media laws in January, allowing for the creation of an independent commission to protect media freedoms, the government has so far failed to set it up.

The state-controlled media commission in January invited the Daily News — the country's most popular independent paper, which was banned in 2003 — to reapply for a licence. However, it remains closed.

Zimbabweans are left with only one daily, the government-controlled Herald, and no independent radio or television stations are authorised to operate.

Meanwhile, South Africa's deputy foreign minister Aziz Pahad blasted foreign media for orchestrating "conspiracy theories" by claiming the delay to the presidential election results was a plot to fix the outcome.

"What is a matter of serious concern is the orchestrated campaign, by sections of the international and South African media, to categorically claim that the delay is a plot by the government to 'doctor' and 'steal' the elections," said Pahad.

A number of foreign governments, including the United States and Britain, have raised concerns that the delay may be part of a conspiracy.

AFP