( CNN ) -- The news editor of the Zambian newspaper The Post has gone on trial for allegedly circulating obscene material to politicians , the newspaper states on its Web site . Zambia President Rupiah Banda has branded the childbirth photos pornographic . In early June , Chansa Kabwela wrote to the country 's vice president , health minister and several non-governmental organizations to highlight problems in the country 's health-care system -- especially the problems pregnant women faced during a strike by health-care workers . In her letter , Kabwela included several photos of a woman giving birth in a parking lot outside a hospital from which she had been turned away , according to Reporters Without Borders . The country 's president , Rupiah Banda , branded the photos pornographic and called for Kabwela 's arrest and prosecution , according to the press freedom organization . `` Kabwela 's arrest is shocking and the grounds are ridiculous , '' the organization said in a statement on its Web site after the arrest . Now the trial into the alleged obscene photos has begun in the Lusaka magistrate 's court , the newspaper Web site says . One of the first witnesses , Kenneth Ngosa , a senior private secretary to the vice president , told the court he was immediately disturbed by the pictures he found inside the letter , according to the paper . The Post described the courtroom as `` packed to capacity '' and said `` people from all works of life including musicians and opposition political party members '' had come to support Kabwela . Defense lawyer George Chisanga has asked the court to look into whether the president 's order to arrest and prosecute Kabwela could influence the course of justice . A joint statement from several Zambian media organizations , published on The Post 's Web site , calls for the government to amend the law on obscenity to clarify what constitutes obscenity and material that can corrupt morals . The statement concedes that the pictures were in bad taste , but notes that they were sent on behalf of a good cause : to end the strike . CNN efforts to obtain comment from both The Post and the Zambian government have been unsuccessful . According to the latest figures from the World Health Organization , in 2004 the mortality rate of children under 5 years old in Zambia was 182 per 1,000 live births . In the United States , under-5 mortality rate was 8 per 1,000 live births in 2006 . Skilled health personnel attended only 43 percent of childbirths in Zambia in 2002 , according to the health organization .
News editor of Zambian newspaper on trial for circulating obscene material . Chansa Kabwela sent pictures of a woman giving birth in a parking lot to President . She says she wanted to highlight problems in country 's healthcare system . President Banda branded the images pornographic and had Kabwela arrested .