By Two international press associations have written a joint letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urged him to require “immediate steps to make sure that journalists will work while not harassment and concern of reprisal”.
In their letter, written on Tues, the Austria-headquartered International Press Institute (IPI) and Belgium-based International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) conjointly asked Modi to “direct the state governments to drop all charges against journalists, as well as those underneath the Athenian violation laws, that are obligatory on them for his or her work”.
“The variety of cases filed against journalists have exaggerated tremendously once the unfold of the pandemic,” the letter expressed. The “health crisis [pandemic] is getting used as associate excuse to silence people who have exposed disadvantage within the government’s response to it… A free media is crucial to a thriving public health response.”
They wrote, “The use of violation laws to harass freelance, crucial journalists isn’t solely a gross violation of the country’s international commitments, it’s conjointly an endeavor by the govt. to silence any criticism. print media work can’t be equated to violation or undermining security.”
“As several as fifty five journalists were targeted for covering the pandemic in Republic of India between twenty five March, once imprisonment was initial obligatory, and 31 May, a report properly and Risks Analysis cluster (RRAG) has shown,” they expressed.
Meanwhile, during a statement issued weekday, the Editors lodge of Republic of India criticised Old Delhi Police for a “brazen attack…on a journalist [Ahan Penkar] of The Caravan magazine whereas he was ending his duty as a member of the press”.
