- cross-posted to:
- world
- cross-posted to:
- world
Police in New Delhi have arrested the editor of a news website and one of its administrators after raiding the homes of journalists working for the site, which has been critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist-led government.
The arrests were made late Tuesday after some journalists associated with NewsClick were detained and their digital devices seized during extensive raids that were part of an investigation into whether it had received funds from China. NewsClick denied any financial misconduct.
Suman Nalwa, a police spokesperson, said the arrests were made under a wide-ranging anti-terrorism law. The government has used the law to stifle dissent and jail activists, journalists and critics of Modi, with some spending years in jail before going to trial. Those arrested are NewsClick’s founder and editor, Prabir Purkayastha, and its human resources chief, Amit Chakravarty.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The arrests were made late Tuesday after some journalists associated with NewsClick were detained and their digital devices seized during extensive raids that were part of an investigation into whether it had received funds from China.
That same month, India’s junior minister for information and broadcasting, Anurag Thakur, accused NewsClick of spreading an “anti-India agenda,” citing the New York Times report, and of working with the opposition Indian National Congress party.
We urge the Indian government to immediately cease these actions, as journalists must be allowed to work without fear of intimidation or reprisal,” Beh Lih Yi, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator, said in a statement.
The Editors Guild of India said it was worried that the intention of raids was to “create a general atmosphere of intimidation under the shadow of draconian laws.”
In February, authorities searched the BBC’s New Delhi and Mumbai offices over accusations of tax evasion a few days after it broadcast a documentary in Britain that examined Modi’s role in anti-Muslim riots in 2002.
India’s anti-terrorism law has stringent requirements for bail, which mean individuals often spend months, sometimes years, in custody without being found guilty.
The original article contains 665 words, the summary contains 190 words. Saved 71%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!