NEW DELHI, Feb 2: The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) has called for the immediate withdrawal of sedition charges which were filed against select journalists subsequent to the Republic Day violence.
In a statement, the CHRI maintained that the government must ensure protection under law for journalists who are subjected to harassments and threats.
“Senior and younger journalists, photographers, news anchors and editors have been physically and legally attacked as well as abused on social media for their work. This casts a long shadow over the state of freedom of expression in the country, which has for decades been a thriving bastion of journalism,” the CHRI said.
Citing India’s commitment to uphold “freedom of expression and of the media”, the CHRI said, “To be a journalist is not a crime”.
The CHRI also alleged that the police across different states are using colonial laws such as sedition, criminal defamation as well as economic offences to silence media figures.
Only recently, media bodies condemned the filing of sedition charges against six senior journalists and editors for their reporting on the farmers’ tractor parade and the ensuing violence here on Republic Day, alleging the situation in the country is akin to an “undeclared emergency”.
Last week, the Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh Police filed FIR for sedition against journalists Mrinal Pande, Rajdeep Sardesai, Zafar Agha, Paresh Nath, Anant Nath, Vinod K Jose for reporting on the farmers’ protest rallies and the ensuing violence that took place in the national capital on January 26.
