Zimbabwe's immigration officials have ordered Andrew Meldrum, an American journalist working for the UK's Guardian newspaper, to leave the country within 24 hours.

He was informed of the decision to revoke his permanent residency minutes after being acquitted of publishing falsehoods in what was seen as a media test case.

In this country you get acquitted and then deported and the government still has the last laugh

Andrew Meldrum's lawyer

He told the BBC that he was "elated" over the acquittal but "crushed" over his deportation.

Mr Meldrum, 50, was the first of a dozen journalists charged with offences relating to the new laws, which Andrew Meldrum's lawyer described as "absurd".

He told the BBC that his acquittal was "a great victory for press freedom in Zimbabwe".

Mr Meldrum said the decision to deport him was another way of preventing him from doing his job.

"The Mugabe government does not want to see me, or any other journalist... holding the government accountable for the good of all the people of this country."

Three other foreign journalists have been deported from Zimbabwe since February 2001 and most foreign media, including the BBC, are not allowed to send foreign correspondents to the country.

Appeal

The Guardian's editor, Alan Rusbridger, has deplored the decision to deport Mr Meldrum.

"The deportation order was signed on 3 July, suggesting there was never any intention of a just result," he said.

	Media law introduced by President Mugabe requires: Journalists must apply for an annual licence Only Zimbabwean nationals can apply Foreign journalists may report with special permission Full details of Zimbabwe media law

Mr Meldrum was charged with publishing a story which later turned out to be untrue, now seen by the state as a crime punishable by up to two years in prison.

He has lived in the country for 22 years and is planning to appeal against the decision to deport him.

In acquitting Mr Meldrum, magistrate Godfrey Macheyo accepted that he had tried to verify the story.

"He acted like any other reasonable journalist in these circumstances," the magistrate said.

During the trial, Mr Meldrum's lawyer had argued that the police had refused to comment on the story and so Mr Meldrum could not be held responsible.

'Harassment'

The defence had also argued that as the story was published in Britain, in the Guardian newspaper, it was beyond the jurisdiction of Zimbabwean law and so all charges should be dropped.

However, this argument was dismissed on Friday.

In closing statements, Mr Meldrum's lawyer said the new laws were absurd - a view shared by many journalists working in Zimbabwe.

A dozen have also been charged with various offences under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Mr Meldrum said he hoped that the legal precedent of his acquittal would help them.

His lawyer described the decision to deport him as harassment:

"In this country you get acquitted and then deported and the government still has the last laugh," she said.