In a statement today, the Editors Guild of India took strong exception to the FIR filed by the Uttar Pradesh police in Ghaziabad against the Wire and three journalists – Mohammad Zubair of Alt News and independent journalists Saba Naqvi and Rana Ayyub – over their tweets about elderly Muslim man being beaten up by a group of men.
The guild said it was "deeply concerned" by the UP police's "track record of filing FIRs against journalists to deter them from reporting serious incidents without fear of reprisals".
The tweets in question were about what the Muslim man, Abdul Samad, had alleged: that he had been beaten up and forced to chant "Jai Shri Ram". The journalists and the Wire were accused of "provoking communal sentiments" and posting tweets without "verifying facts". The Ghaziabad police had ruled out a communal angle.
The guild pointed out that several media houses and journalists, besides the ones named in the complaint, had posted videos and tweets of Samad's allegations. The statement said that it was clear that the UP police had been “discriminatory in targeting” these particular media organisations and journalists.
The Editors Guild of India condemns the filing of First Information Reports (FIRs) by the Uttar Pradesh Police against The Wire and several other journalists, for their tweets on an assault on an elderly Muslim man in Ghaziabad on June 5th. pic.twitter.com/u17KMkYb42
— Editors Guild of India (@IndEditorsGuild) June 17, 2021
The statement added that the alternate version of the incident, in which the UP police claimed that the attack was part of a personal dispute, was also reported by these media organisations and journalists.
Reporters Without Borders also released a statement calling for the immediate withdrawal of the “absurd” charges against the three journalists, including that of criminal conspiracy. Calling the complaint “judicial harassment”, the statement said that the journalists could face a possible combined sentence of nine years and six months based on the charges invoked against them.
#India : @RSF_inter demands that @ghaziabadpolice withdraw the absurd criminal charges filed against @AltNews cofounder @zoo_bear, @washingtonpost columnist @RanaAyyub, writer @_sabanaqvi and news website @thewire_in. This harassment must end at once!https://t.co/GO9OjgQL5G
— RSF (@RSF_inter) June 17, 2021
While Zubair had tweeted a video of the man alleging that he was forced to chant ‘Jai Shree Ram’ by his attackers, Ayyub had tweeted an audio-less video of the man being attacked. Naqvi had tweeted an Indian Express report about the incident, saying the election-bound state of Uttar Pradesh was turning into a "Hindu rashtra". The Wire tweeted that Samad was forced to chant slogans.
Newslaundry is a reader-supported, ad-free, independent news outlet based out of New Delhi. Support their journalism, here.
