(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to the head of the Times of India press group, RSF has expressed concern over the harassment of journalist Pradyuman Maheshwari by the group’s lawyers. Maheshwari, who operates the weblog http://www.mediaah.com, felt compelled to close the blog as a result of the harassment. “At a time when bloggers are being […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to the head of the Times of India press group, RSF has expressed concern over the harassment of journalist Pradyuman Maheshwari by the group’s lawyers. Maheshwari, who operates the weblog http://www.mediaah.com, felt compelled to close the blog as a result of the harassment.
“At a time when bloggers are being harassed and imprisoned in all four corners of the world, such a measure appears misplaced coming from a media group,” the organisation said in a 17 March 2005 letter to the managing director of the Times of India, Vineet Jain.
A law firm engaged by the Times of India wrote to Maheshwari on 5 March, instructing him to remove 19 articles posted online that it considered “defamatory” and likely to “tarnish the image” of the press group.
After receiving this letter, Maheshwari decided, on 10 March, to close his weblog. “I think that I would win a possible defamation case against the Times of India. But I am only one journalist against a powerful press group. If they act against my blog on future occasions, sooner or later, I will have to close it. I prefer to anticipate any problems in advance and shut down this publication,” he told RSF.
“After examining the offending articles, it seems to us that this journalist was only exercising his right to comment on and criticise your group’s commercial strategy and, more generally, his right to freedom of expression,” RSF stated in its letter to Jain.
RSF urged the Times of India to drop all harassment and legal action against Maheshwari.
Documents relating to the case, including the letter from the Times of India’s lawyers, can be read on http://mediaha.blogspot.com.
Indian Internet-users have launched an online petition to back Mediaah: http://www.petitiononline.com/mediaahp/petition.html
