MATABELELAND, Zimbabwe (CNN) -- British broadcaster Sky News Wednesday criticized the jail sentences given to three of its drivers in Zimbabwe, where a court found them guilty of possessing broadcast equipment without authorization. 

Journalists read a newspaper in Zimbabwe, where freedom of the press is extremely limited. 

The men are all from Johannesburg, South Africa and were sentenced Tuesday, according to their attorney. 

"We deplore the harsh sentence given to the three South African drivers," a Sky News spokesman, who did not give his name, said in London. "We will be appealing and hope that the Zimbabwean justice system fully reappraises its decision." 

A court convicted Bernet Hasani Sono, Resemate Boy Chauke, and Simon Maodi on Monday in Matabeleland, the state-run newspaper Chronicle reported. 

The three men pleaded guilty to violating the Postal and Telecommunications Act but denied the truck and Sky News equipment were theirs, the state paper reported. 

The judge, John Masimba, said that despite denying ownership, possession of the equipment was still a violation of the act. Masimba said in the Chronicle that it would send the wrong signal if he did not punish the men. 

Sono and Maodi were additionally charged an extra six weeks in jail for violating a section of the Immigration Act after the two didn't show up to the Immigration authorities, their defense lawyer, Tawengwa Hara, said. The charge was minor but Hara said he would appeal the possession charge and the sentence. 

Zimbabwean police stopped the men during a routine check at a Mbalabala roadblock in the Matabeleland South province and found boxes containing the communication equipment. The men were unable to give a reason for possessing it and were arrested, Hara said. 
Who was one of the drivers convicted?
A court convicted Bernet Hasani Sono,