The UEA has condemned the conviction of a staff member and acclaimed author in Zimbabwe for protesting government corruption.
Tsitsi Dangarembga, an award-winning novelist and international chair of creative writing at the university, was found guilty of "inciting public violence and breaching the peace".
The conviction has also been condemned by human rights groups and writers' associations.
Ms Dandarembga and fellow activist Julie Barnes were arrested in the Zimbabwean capital Harare in July 2020 while walking with placards protesting corruption.
One placard said: "We want better. Reform our institutions." The other said: "Free our journalists. We want a better Zimbabwe for all".
The two women were arrested without warrant nor explanation by members of the Zimbabwe police force and held overnight.
It was part of crackdowns by the state on human rights campaigners, including investigative journalist Hopewell Chin'ono.
The judgement on her case was delayed several times until finally, on September 29, the pair were given a suspended sentence of six months over the next five years on the condition they do not commit a similar offence.
They were also fined 70,000 Zimbabwean dollars, which is approximately £172.
The magistrate, Barbara Mateko, said the state had proved beyond doubt that the two had staged a demonstration with the intent to incite violence.
Ms Dangarembga, whose novel This Mournable Body was shortlisted for the 2020 Booker prize, said: "Our hearts are heavy at this outcome.
"We must take this conviction as a warning sign that our freedom to peacefully express what we want as Zimbabweans in public discourse is being stripped away from us.
"We are being intimidated into silence and inaction as repression and corruption increase, and the quality of our lives, our hopes for our children's lives and our children's confidence in their futures decreases.
"We urge you all to stand peacefully for freedom, justice and dignity in our country at all times. We promise you that we will always do the same.
"We intend to appeal. God bless Zimbabwe and God bless us all."
When President Emmerson Mnangagwa took power in Zimbabwe in 2017, he vowed to introduce reforms after the decades-long repressive rule of his predecessor Robert Mugabe.
But critics say little has changed with the government accused by human rights groups of corruption and human rights violations.
Ms Dangarembga, 63, has been a critic of the president for some time.
Amnesty International has said that the Zimbabwean government must stop targeting opponents and critics with prosecution and must end its relentless harassment and intimidation of human rights defenders and activists.
It also called the conviction a "travesty of justice" that sends a "clear and chilling message".
A spokesman for the UEA said: "The University of East Anglia condemns in the strongest possible terms the conviction of Tsitsi Dangarembga in Zimbabwe.
"We stand in solidarity with Tsitsi Dangarembga’s right to peaceful protest.
"Along with [writers' association] English and International PEN and Amnesty International, we fervently hoped for her immediate acquittal."
The staff involved in the International Chair programme said: "We write out of concern for and in solidarity with Tsitsi Dangarembga and the right to peacefully protest.
"Peaceful protest is a human right and a freedom, one of expression.
"We condemn this decision by the Zimbabwean authorities to convict Dangarembga, one of the most important writers ever to emerge from the African continent and indeed one of the most significant writers in the world today.
"The Creative Writing programme at UEA calls for the immediate reversal of Tsitsi Dangarembga’s charge of inciting public violence that has been brought against her in Zimbabwe.
"We reiterate her right to peaceful protest, right of assembly and free expression of her views, under the law of Zimbabwe and international law."
The Zimbabwean Embassy has been contacted for comment.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here