The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an American body which promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists, has made damning revelations in its new report. It’s been another record-breaking year for the number of journalists jailed for practicing their profession, the CPJ said in its report, adding that 363 reporters were deprived of their freedom as of December 1, 2022. The number of journalists behind the bars is at record high and overtakes last year’s record by 20%.
The report also stated that currently 7 journalists in India are being held captive in prisons. These seven journalists are Aasif Sultan, Siddique Kappan, Gautam Navlakha, Manan Dar, Sajad Gul, Fahad Shah and Rupesh Kumar Singh.
The countries with highest number of journalists arrested are Iran, China, Myanmar, Turkey, and Belarus, respectively.
"A key driver behind authoritarian governments’ increasingly oppressive efforts to stifle the media: trying to keep the lid on broiling discontent in a world disrupted by COVID-19 and the economic fallout from Russia’s war on Ukraine," the report stated.
Shedding light on the situation in India, the report said: "India, with seven journalists in jail, continues to draw criticism over its treatment of the media, in particular its use of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, a preventive detention law, to keep Kashmiri journalists Aasif Sultan, Fahad Shah, and Sajad Gul behind bars after they were granted court-ordered bail in separate cases.
Siddique Kappan, a journalist from southern state of Kerala, was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh on October 5, 2020 while on his way to cover the Hathras tragedy. He has spent over two years behind the bars. Though the apex court has granted him bail in larger conspiracy case in connection to Hathras tragedy, he remains behind bars due to a money laundering case.
Gautam Navlakha, a human rights activist and journalist, was arrested by the Pune police in 2020 in connection with the Elgar Parishad violence case. After he spent more than 30 months in jail, he has now put under house arrest by the Supreme Court.
Manan Dar, a freelance Kashmiri journalist, was arrested last year for his alleged involvement in a “militant conspiracy” case. Dar has spent 1 year and 2 months in jail.
Sajad Gul, a reporter for Kashmir Walla, is in jail since January this year. Gul was held for tweeting a video of a protest. However, after he got bail in this case, he was arrested under the Public Safety Act.
Fahad Shah Kashmir Walla had been sent to prison in February this year after the Indian army accused him of circulating “fake news” regarding an event at a school. He was later booked in two more cases. Gul has been granted bail by a local court in two cases earlier this month, but remains in jail for another one.
Another freelance journalist from Jharkhand named Rupesh Kumar Singh was arrested in July 2022 under the stringent UAPA. Two other cases were registered against him later.
