India / Asia

  
A screenshot of Gaon Savera's X account on August 23, 2023, says, "Account Withheld."

India blocks social media accounts of Gaon Savera news outlet ahead of workers’ convention

New Delhi, August 23, 2023—Authorities in India must immediately unblock the social media accounts of the independent news website Gaon Savera, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On Monday, August 21, Gaon Savera’s Facebook page became inaccessible in India, and its account on X, formerly known as Twitter, was also blocked the following day,…

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A screenshot of The Kashmir Walla's X page on August 21, 2023 says, "Account Withheld. @tkwmag's account has been withheld in India in response to a legal demand."

India blocks The Kashmir Walla website and social media accounts

New Delhi, August 21, 2023—Authorities in India must immediately unblock the website and social media accounts of the independent Kashmiri news outlet The Kashmir Walla, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On Saturday, August 19, The Kashmir Walla became inaccessible in India following an order by India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to…

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CPJ calls on Biden administration to press India prime minister on media freedom during visit

New York, June 14, 2023—­­Ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the U.S. from June 21 to 24 and meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, the Committee to Protect Journalists on Wednesday issued the following statement calling on the U.S. government to urge India to end its media crackdown and release the six…

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CPJ concerned by India Law Commission’s recommendation to expand sedition law

New Delhi, June 8, 2023–The Indian government must repeal the country’s sedition law and reject recommendations from the Law Commission to retain and expand the legislation, as it would impinge on press freedom, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday.  On May 24, the commission, which advises the Indian government on legal reforms, recommended retaining…

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Indian soldiers beat 3 journalists in Manipur

New Delhi, May 24, 2023—Authorities in the northeast Indian state of Manipur must investigate the beating of journalists Soram Inaoba, Nongthombam Johnson, and Brahmacharimayum Dayananda, and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On the afternoon of Monday, May 22, soldiers with the Indian Army’s Jat Regiment assaulted the three journalists…

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Indian journalist Sakshi Joshi assaulted, detained while covering women-led protest

New York, May 5, 2023—Indian authorities must conduct an immediate and impartial investigation into the police harassment, assault, and detention of journalist Sakshi Joshi and hold the officers responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. At around 12:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 3, police in the capital city of Delhi confronted Joshi…

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CPJ joins call for Indian government to withdraw latest amendment to Information Technology Rules

Ahead of World Press Freedom Day on Wednesday, May 3, the Committee to Protect Journalists joined 16 press freedom and human rights organizations in a Tuesday statement calling on the Indian government to review and withdraw the overbroad provisions of the Information Technology Rules, 2021, and to withdraw the latest amendment to the rules, announced…

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Journalists in India arrested, threatened, suspended from Twitter in separate incidents

In March 2023, India saw a number of attacks on press freedom, including the arrest of Kashmiri journalist Irfan Mehraj; the suspension in India of Twitter handles belonging to an outlet and at least three journalists; and death threats to journalist and fact-checker Mohammad Zubair. On March 20, the National Investigation Agency, India’s counterterrorism body,…

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Indian journalist Jaspal Singh arrested in Haryana

On March 18, 2023, police in the Indian state of Haryana arrested Jaspal Singh, a TV journalist who reports part-time for the local broadcaster News18 Haryana, from his home in the city of Ratia, according to news reports and Rajesh Kundu, editor of the news website The Ink, who is familiar with the case and…

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Indian journalist Sanjay Rana arrested in Uttar Pradesh

New York, March 17, 2023 – Authorities in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh should drop any investigation launched in retaliation for journalist Sanjay Rana’s work and allow him to report freely and safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. At around 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 12, police in Uttar Pradesh arrested Rana,…

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