Journalism Is Not A Crime…so why are they still in jail?
On World Press Freedom Day , May 3, 2022, this special focus from Free Speech Collective on journalists who are in jail. Download link available below:
Fear of Speech
On May 3, on the eve of World Press Freedom Day 2022, we present FEAR OF SPEECH A short film by students of Whistling Woods International, the film, communication and creative arts institute located in Mumbai, India, done in association with Free Speech Collective. Ziva, a young journalist, […]
Finally, FIR on threats to Dalit journalist Meena Kotwal; GoI silent on UN letter
Gutsy Dalit journalist and founder of digital news channel ‘ The Mooknayak’, Meena Kotwal, was threatened after she posted a video of herself symbolically burning a copy of the Manusmriti, the regressive, anti-caste and patriarchal book of Vedic laws. After a major struggle with the Ambedkar Nagar police, […]
Travel Ban on Aakar Patel now: Journalists, activists in India under assault
Republished from The National HeraldJournalists in India have been stopped at the airport, attacked by hindutva forces while on duty, arrested for their investigative reports. Ashlin Mathew has a detailed summary. A week after journalist Rana Ayyub was stopped from flying to London, former head of Amnesty International […]
EGI demands release of UP journalist Gaurav Bansal
PRESS STATEMENT March 21st, 2022 The Editors Guild of India is shocked by the manner in which an Agra based journalist, Gaurav Bansal, was arrested and allegedly tortured for reporting about electoral malpractices in the recent assembly elections. While on one hand the journalist’s lawyer has alleged that, […]
Media One appeal dismissed by Kerala High Court;TV station to remain off air
Citing national security issues, the Union government had imposed a ban on television channel Media One and the company filed an appeal before the Kerala High Court. N P Chekkutty has this report. Calicut: Media One Channel, one of the top five television news channels in Malayalam with […]
#JournalismIsNotACrime but can Kashmir’s Journalism Students Take the Risk?
Frequent summons, arrest of journalists is having a chilling effect on journalism students and aspiring journalists in Kashmir, writes Majid Maqbool The recent closure of Kashmir Press Club (KPC) by the government following its sudden takeover, and more recent summons and arrest of journalism student and trainee reporter […]
Kappan bail plea admitted
Justice Rajesh Singh Chauhan of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has admitted an application for bail filed by journalist Siddique Kappan, who has been in jail since October 2019. The judge rejected the objection of the advocate for the state of Uttar Pradesh on the […]
Kappan application to quash case admitted
The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court admitted an application filed by journalist Siddique Kappan, through his wife, Rayhanath Kappan, seeking to quash the “patently illegal prosecution sanctions” to proceed against Kappan under The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act , 1967. While admitting the application on Friday, February […]
Kashmirwalla editor Fahad Shah still in police custody
The arrest of Kashmirwalla’s founder and editor Fahad Shah on charges of sedition (IPC 124-A) and terror charges under the repressive and draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, is a chilling sign of the untrammelled powers of the administration to crack down even on the last vestiges of […]
On World Human Rights Day, Aravalli Activists Detained in Gurgaon
At least 26 citizens and members of the Aravalli Bachao group were picked up by police in Gurgaon and detained for over three hours when they staged a silent peaceful protest against a waste burning plant that Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar was slated to inaugurate, despite […]
Munawar Faruqui and the “law and order” excuse
By Geeta Seshu The Bengaluru police action that resulted in the cancellation of comedian Munawar Faruqui’s show in the city is shameful. More than just a caving in to right-wing pressure, it is a clear abrogation of the duty of the police to uphold law and order. On […]
PUCL condemns UAPA charge against lawyers on fact finding mission in Tripura
“By considering the legitimate freedom of speech and expression in both its off line and on line avatars as unlawful activity, the Tripura police are overstepping the bounds of their legal authority and without any legitimate cause violating constitutionally protected rights. By asking that Mukesh and Indori remove […]
Womens’ groups seek withdrawal of Bombay HC gag order
More than 100 women activists and womens’ rights organisations have expressed grave misgivings of a Bombay High Court order that effectively results in a gag of court proceedings of sexual harassment cases. Read the detailed statement submitted to the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court and Justice […]
One year on: Campaign to release Siddique Kappan and co-accused
The Siddique Kappan Solidarity Committee launched a campaign for the release of the jailed journalist, who was arrested by Uttar Pradesh police and charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, when he was on his way to Hathras village to cover the gang-rape and fatal assault on […]
Siddique Kappan: One year of an unjust incarceration
The Siddique Kappan Solidarity Committee held a press conference in Calicut, Kerala, on Oct 1, 2021, to recognise that the jailed journalist is a Prisoner of Conscience and given legal support by the Kerala Government and to demand his release. Kappan was arrested, along with three others, on […]
Bombay HC guidelines on Sexual Harassment Cases : Who Does the Blanket Ban Benefit?
In a surprising development, Justice Gautam Patel of the Bombay High Court has come out with a set of guidelines to deal with ‘protecting’ the identity of all parties in sexual harassment cases and also regulating the manner in which proceedings in such cases are reported. This amounts […]
Case against Andamans Zubair Ahmad quashed
The case against Andamans journalist Zubair Ahmad was quashed by Justice Shivakant Prasad of Calcutta High Court’s Circuit Bench in Port Blair , providing some sense and justice for the most absurd of the spate of cases lodged against journalists reporting on the pandemic! On April 27, 2020, […]
How Surveillance Erodes Democratic Rights
The Pegasus revelations have struck a body blow to privacy rights of citizens. In India, the government continues to be in denial over the purchase of spyware. The Supreme Court of India is hearings petitions filed by individuals who were targeted by surveillance and by organisations working on […]
Prominent Citizens Condemn Continued Incarceration of 16 in Bhima Koregaon Case
“Democracy upholds the fundamental right to life and liberty alongside the right to freedom of speech and expression, assembly, association and movement in our country. The Supreme Court of India deemed the right to privacy as integral to the right to life and personal liberty guaranteed in Article […]
India’s Deep State: Is Any Citizen Safe?
Journalists, politicians and human rights activists across the world had been spied upon by their governments using a spyware tool, ‘Pegasus’, struck at the very heart of the trust imposed by citizens on the State, especially in democracies, to safeguard their personal data and privacy.
Aaj Tak Journalist Terminated Over Tweets Critical of Modi
Shyam Meera Singh said that ‘there is the freedom to murder and lynch but there is no freedom to criticise Modi or the current government; if there was freedom, why would he face termination? (Republished with permission from GauriLankeshNews). In an autocratic move, Aaj Tak, a Hindi-language news […]
The draft trafficking bill : A blow to free speech and privacy
The Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Care and Rehabilitation) Bill 2021, by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India, slated to be introduced in the upcoming session of the Parliament, is fraught with over-broad definitions, a draconian investigation process and penal provisions that defeat the very […]
Over use and misuse of sedition law
Courts have once again found no substance in flimsy accusations of sedition slapped by over-zealous police, reports Anjuman Ara Begum.
Cinematograph Amendment Bill :Film-makers decry paternalistic censorship laws
This provision will effectively give the Central Government supreme power over cinema exhibition in the country potentially endangering freedom of expression and democratic dissent.
The Last Laugh
Political cartoonists keep the system honest. They chip away at the hubris of those in power by laughing at them.
Sedition cases : 2021
Aisha Sultana granted interim anticipatory bail by Kerala High Court
Siddique Kappan : “Still have faith in Constitution but this case is fake”
Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan, arrested on Oct 5 by Uttar Pradesh police and charged under sedition and UAPA sections, found some relief when the Sub Divisional Magistrate, Maant, Ram Datt Ram, dropped charges of breach of peace against him and three others. The judge said that police had […]
The Wire: Repeated FIRs criminalise reportage that is contrary to official version
Uttar Pradesh (UP) Police have lodged an FIR against social media network Twitter, news portal The Wire, journalists Rana Ayyub and Saba Naqvi, Congress politicians Shama Mohamed, Salman Nizami and Maskoor Usmani and Alt news co-founder Mohammed Zubair for tweeting a horrific video of the beard of an […]
Siddique Kappen Case: A Betrayal of Justice
Nine months on, the Hathras rape case is itself almost forgotten and even the UP government’s abject failure in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic has receded from national headlines. Will there be any justice for journalist Siddique Kappen, who awaits a plea for bail to come up before […]
New Delhi Rapper MC Kode goes missing : fallout of hate speech and death threats
MC Kode aka Aditya Tiwari, a New Delhi based rapper has been missing since June 2nd, 2021, after receiving death threats for an old battle rap clip that went viral. His Instagram post hinting at suicide was disturbing and alarming but right-wing trolls continued to bay for his […]
Pandemic, the Press and the New Digital Order
An Overview. Excerpted from the South Asia Press Freedom report – 2021 (Released on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, May 3, 2021. Please click here to read the full report) As the second wave of the Covid pandemic surged across South Asia in early 2021, journalists […]
Pandemic gives Indian govt opportunity to clamp down on the media: IFJ report
The year was marked by the heavy-handed use of laws of sedition, anti-terror or disaster management to quell criticism of the government whether at the Centre or in states, on journalists or civil society. This clampdown on journalists was marked during the ongoing peaceful farmers’ protest against three farms laws that has left the government more than rattled.
Here are the tweets the Indian Government censored during the pandemic
The tweets Twitter blocked. Inexplicable, since several images have been published in mainstream media, reproduced and shared across multiple platforms. Censorship by the government or by pliant social media platforms won’t make these images, or the reality they depict, go away. They’ve been compiled here and posted on […]
Bombay HC quashes Sakal Media Group FIR against journalist : No violation of trademark
The Bombay High Court has quashed an FIR against journalist Prateek Goyal alleging trademark violation in an article filed in Newslaundry on the decision of the Sakal group in Pune to sack over fifty staffers of the Sakal Times. The court held that mere use of the registered […]
NHRC closes complaint on arrest of Siddique Kappan
Predictably, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has closed the complaint on the arrest of journalist Siddique Kappan, jailed since October 5, 2020. Kappan, also the secretary of the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWF), was on his way to Hathras in Uttar Pradesh (UP), to cover the […]
Media, Democracy and Democratic Institutions: Challenges of our Times
Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal, Executive Editor, Kashmir TImes, delivered the 40th J.P Memorial lecture on March 23, 2020. The prestigious memorial lecture marks the day Emergency was lifted in India. In her lecture, she gives a panoramic view of the events that have occurred since the Modi regime took […]
PCI issues warrant for arrest of Vijaya Karnataka editor
In a major development in an ongoing hearing on a complaint against an inflammatory report, the Press Council of India (PCI) issued a bailable warrant for the arrest of the editor of daily newspaper Vijay Karnataka for failing to respond to a summons. The hearing was held on […]
Curbs on social media are meant to gag the people
(republished with permission) By Pramod Ranjan (Note: The notification of the Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 have far-reaching implications for freedom of expression on the Internet and will, in the name of regulation by a three-tier mechanism overseen by government officials, […]
PUCL :Stop the Witch Hunt! Drop all false & motivated Cases
PUCL statement on case against environmental activists Stop the Witch Hunt! Drop all false & motivated Cases Respect the fundamental right of free speech, dissent, assembly and association!! The PUCL welcomes the order of the Delhi Sessions Court on 23.2.21, granting bail to Disha Ravi, a 21 year […]
Instead of criminalizing young environmental activists, talk to them!
Prominent citizens, including artists, environmental and social activists, parents, teachers, professionals, adivasis, dalits and farmers, today spoke out against the illegal and disproportionate response of the government in targeting young activists, including Disha Ravi, and the government’s intent to criminalise dissent. At a press conference organised by the […]
Shocking detention of climate change activist by Delhi police for sharing an advocacy ‘toolkit’!
To imply that toolkits are some conspiracy gizmos used by foreign forces to destabilize India is as stupid as the ‘Cow was abducted by aliens’ rubbish that was aired by the same mainstream media channels that are now airing this nonsense. This controversy is baseless and has no merit.
Today’s special in Censorship Nation: Twitter India blocks multiple accounts
If Twitter India continues in this vein, perhaps it will also see the kind of mass migration to Signal or Telegram that Whatsapp experienced a few weeks ago, following its restrictive and unilateral privacy policy. Media users need plural media platforms. That’s one way of ensuring that free speech is protected.
Case against editors Mrinal Pande, Vinod Jose, Zafar Agha, Rajdeep Sardesai and Caravan owners: Fresh attack on free speech
By Geeta Seshu The right to Freedom of Expression in India has been under attack from multiple directions, the latest being the sedition case cases filed by the police in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka against Congress-I MP, Shashi Tharoor, Caravan owner Paresh Nath and senior […]
Munawar Faruqui’s Bail plea rejected. Judge says more ‘incriminating’ evidence may be collected!
Justice Rohit Arya of the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has rejected the bail plea of stand up comedian Munawar Faruqui and said that the ‘possibility of collection of more incriminating material andcomplacency of other persons cannot also be ruled out.’ Munawar Faruqui and five […]
Unabated Attacks: Journalist Neha Dixit faces stalking, threats and attempted break in
By Geeta Seshu Journalist Neha Dixit was no stranger to online trolling but for the last five months, the harassment took an even more sinister turn, with callers stalking her, calling up on her phone from random numbers to issue rape and death threats and also attempt to […]
Munawar Faruqui: Chronicle of an Unjustified Arrest
Twenty-five days after he was arrested on the charge that he could crack a joke that someone would find objectionable, comedian Munawar Faruqui and five of his friends and colleagues await a decision from the Madhya Pradesh High Court on a bail application. The entire case against the […]
Arrest warrant against Paranjoy Guha Thakurta: Punitive and Intimidatory
The extensive use of criminal defamation to censor and silence journalists has become the norm and strikes a blow against freedom of expression. Despite several attempts, it continues to remain in the statute books, a handy tool to browbeat journalists.
Nothing ‘seditious’ about this!
In yet another example of the excessive and censorious use of sedition, Manipur police have arrested the executive editor of The Frontier Manipur (TFM) Paojel Chaoba for publishing an article that was actually critical of revolutionary movements in the state. Sedition, which comes under Sec 124 A of […]
Vague, arbitrary, unconstitutional, outdated: 9 reasons why journalists are challenging the Contempt of Courts Act
Republished from Indian Journalism Review, Jan 13, 2021. The constitutional validity of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, has been challenged in the Karnataka High Court by Krishna Prasad, former Editor-in-Chief of Outlook; N. Ram, former Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu and director of The Hindu Publishing Group; Arun […]
Kappan bail application comes up
On April 20, 2022, a bail application filed by journalist Siddique Kappan comes up for hearing in the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court. Kappan had been arrested by Uttar Pradesh police on October 5, 2020, while he was on his way to Hathras, to cover the […]
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