Harassment – Journalists | Lawfare – General – Journalists

More than two years after the Supreme Court granted bail and ordered “immediate release” of Mohammed Zubair from prison, the leading Indian fact-checker and journalist is once again back in court. On Tuesday, 3 December 2024, the Allahabad high court briefly heard his petition in a fresh case as police in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh seek his arrest, accusing him of “endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India”. Uttar Pradesh police had filed the FIR against Zubair for calling out a communally provocative speech by Narsinghanand. The charge is non-bailable, and a conviction could mean a minimum of seven years in jail and fine or even life imprisonment.