Rajya Sabha MP Binoy Viswam has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene immediately in the case of the “arbitrary arrest” of Delhi-based journalist Siddique Kappan.
Mr. Kappan was arrested along with three others while he was on his way to cover the Hathras case and has been booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
“Freedom of press is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy and the arrest of a reputed senior journalist like Mr. Kappan on terror charges is a direct attack on this freedom. The reporting of such incidents and presenting the truth to the public is an essential part of a journalist’s work and these attempts to silence their voice is to be unequivocally condemned,” Mr. Viswam wrote. He said it was incidents like these that pushed India to 142nd rank in global Press Freedom index.
