Media: Coverage

FIR, filed 17 Aug under UAPA, says ‘secret inputs’ suggest ‘foreign funds in crores… infused illegally in India by Indian & foreign entities… to threaten unity, integrity, security’.

NewsClick journalists have been accused of undermining the unity and territorial integrity of India, according to Delhi Police special cell's FIR. A total of 46 journalists and contributors to the NewsClick were questioned on Tuesday and their mobile phones and other electronic gadgets were seized for alleged connections to China-linked entities to broadcast Chinese propaganda.

The police raids on NewsClick journalists in India are making global headlines, and many activists are worried about the future of free speech in the country. DW talked with journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta.

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.

“Today, a large section of journalists in India finds themselves working under the threat of reprisal. It is imperative that the judiciary confronts power with a fundamental truth."

They demand that the UAPA charges invoked in the case be revoked and the journalists be released.

And yet, none of the drastic actions taken by the police made much sense.

A number of journalists, holding banners, gathered at the Press Club of India while student organisations got together at Jantar Mantar.

The propaganda cry of catching terrorists and Chinese agents is for the gullible. The real game is to bring opponents of any stripe, persuasion, or profession, to heel.

'When journalists are summoned and their devices seized in the name of investigation, there is an inherent malice in the process that must be checked'