India

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF protested the search carried out at the head office of the website Tehelka.com. “The fact that this search was conducted on the very same day that the website’s editor was due to give evidence of capital importance in an inquiry into a corruption scandal shows that the Central Bureau of Investigation [CBI] […]

(RSF/IFEX) – On 11 June 2002, RSF called for the release of Kashmiri journalist Iftikhar Ali Geelani and suggested his arrest was an attempt to restrict coverage of events in Kashmir. “Charging a Kashmiri journalist under the Official Secrets Act in the present circumstances would seem an effort to intimidate any media which tries to […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 29 May 2002 CPJ press release: INDIA: Journalist shot in Kashmir New York, May 29, 2002-The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the shooting of Zafar Iqbal, a journalist for the Srinigar, Kashmir-based English-language daily Kashmir Images. Iqbal, who was shot by three unidentified assailants this afternoon, was seriously injured […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 25 April 2002 CPJ press release: INDIA: CPJ requests information about murdered journalist New York, April 25, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) today sent a letter of inquiry to Dr. Vishnu Kant Shastri, governor of Uttar Pradesh State, India, requesting information about the April 14 death of journalist […]

(RSF/IFEX) -In a letter to Vishnu Kant Shastri, governor of the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh, RSF expressed indignation over the murder of Paritosh Pandey, a crime reporter for the Hindi-language local daily “Jansatta Express”, in Lucknow (northern India). “If this crime goes unpunished, the entire profession will feel at risk. According to his family […]

(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Indian Minister of External Affairs Jaswant Singh, RSF asked for the real reasons behind the arrest of Burmese journalist Soe Myint, managing editor of the Mizzima press agency. “We are justified in asking whether the arrest of this journalist, renowned for his reporting on human rights violations in Burma, […]

(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to the interior minister of the state of Gujarat, Gordhan Zadaphia, RSF denounced the attack on some twenty journalists by police of Gujarat State in western India. “After accusing the media of exaggerating the extent of the recent wave of inter-community violence in the state of Gujarat, the authorities of […]

(CEHURDES/IFEX) – CEHURDES is shocked and condemns the continuous actions against, and harassment of, media workers by the administration and security forces during the current “state of emergency” period. Since the declaration of a state of emergency, the security forces have arrested over four dozen journalists nationwide. These actions are totally unacceptable under internationally-accepted press […]

(PPF/IFEX) – On 29 December 2001, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the regulatory body for cable television operators, issued directions to cable television operators to stop the transmission of Indian channels. The PTA said the decision was taken in view of the one-sided, poisonous Indian propaganda by that country’s channels aimed at tarnishing Pakistan’s image. […]

(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Chief Minister of Karnataka State S.M. Krishna, RSF has asked to be informed of the exact reasons for the detention of a journalist named Sivasubramanian, who has been accused of supporting the bandit Veerappan. RSF fears that the journalist has been mistreated by the police in order to obtain […]

(RSF/IFEX) – As the Indian parliament examines the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO), RSF has sent a letter to Federal Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani, in which the organisation expresses its concerns about the bill’s potential consequences for press freedom. “Sentencing a journalist to five years’ imprisonment because he is suspected of not transmitting information […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 28 August 2001 CPJ letter to Indian Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling: August 28, 2001 Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling Home Department Government of Sikkim Tashiling Gangtok 737 103 India Via Facsimile: 91-3592-22851 Dear Chief Minister Chamling: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is alarmed by last week’s arrest […]

(CEHURDES/IFEX) – On 21 August 2001, an official from the Sikkim (territory in India’s West Bengal state) police’s Criminal Investigation Section arrested Rajesh Bhattarai in Siliguri, West Bengal. Bhattarai is editor of “Aaja Bholi”, a Nepali language daily published in Siliguri. According to the daily “Kantipur” (published in Nepal), police arrested Bhattarai on the charge […]

(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter addressed to Home Affairs Minister Lal Krishna Advani, RSF protested the attack on three employees and the editor of weekly “Chattan”, published in Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir, north-western India), by members of the security forces. “This type of violence is unworthy of Indian government representatives,” said RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard. […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 10 August 2001 CPJ press release: INDIA: Vineet Narain contempt trial postponed New York, August 10, 2001 – Yesterday’s scheduled contempt of court case against journalist Vineet Narain has been postponed due to violence in Jammu and Kashmir State, the trial venue. It is not known when the next […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is an 8 August 2001 CPJ press release: INDIA: Vineet Narain’s contempt trial starts tomorrow New York, August 8, 2001 – The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about the safety of journalist Vineet Narain, whose contempt of court trial has been abruptly moved up to August 9. It […]