Lawfare – Journalists, Others

On September 13, a group of journalists, activists and advocates gathered in Kochi, Kerala, to voice their concerns about the increasing crackdown on journalists and their arbitrary arrests. The meeting was organised as part of an ongoing campaign to demand the release of 26-year-old Kerala-based journalist Rejaz M. Sheeba Sydeek, who was arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on May 7.

However, shortly after the meeting, the Kerala Police took the very actions the group had been protesting against, registering a case against the event’s organisers and speakers.

Despite having proper permission to hold a public event, the Kochi Police booked them under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Kerala Police Act for “unlawful assembly” and “for obstructing police from performing their duties”. The most peculiar of all the charges, however, is that of “threatening, obstructing, or assaulting a police officer with the clear intention to prevent them from performing their duties” – a claim that the organisers have explicitly denied.

Those named in the FIR are journalists Siddique Kappan, Ambika, Baburaj Bhagavathy and Mrudula Bhavani; activists Niharika Pradaush, Dr. Hari, Shaneer, C.P. Rasheed, Sajid Khalid, V.M. Faisal; and advocate Pramod Puzhangara.