The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is outraged over the continued detention of journalist Venu Gopal in Qila Jail, Nizamabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. "Incarceration of journalists on false charges is an outright attack on press freedom, and must not be tolerated on any account," said IFJ President Christopher Warren. According to information received by the IFJ, the noted journalist...
The Kashmir Times Delhi Bureau Chief Iftikhar Gilani's recently released book 'My Days in Prison' (Penguin, Rs 195) reveals a shocking story of trial, temerity and triumph and exposes fancies of bureaucracy, politicians, police and intelligence agencies bent to make democracy and liberty hostage to their whims. With abundant pathos and black humour, Gilani has used his skills as a journalist to...
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) the global organisation of journalists, representing over 500,000 journalists worldwide is concerned over the recent violence directed towards journalists and media workers in Kerala, India. "It is unacceptable for journalists to be attacked in attempts to intimidate or censor reports," said IFJ President Christopher Warren today. "Journalists must...
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the global organisation representing over 500,000 journalists worldwide, today expressed concern over an alarming pattern of attacks against the media in Maharashtra, India after three incidents of attacks against journalists in a one-week period. "Three attacks against journalists in a one-week period is a frightening statement about the status...
Two unidentified assailants stabbed the editor of the Marathi-language daily Mahanagar outside his office in Mumbai on the evening of August 24. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is investigating whether the attack was related to Sajid Rashid's work as a journalist. The men approached Rashid, 48, as he was leaving his office and stabbed him twice, according to the Express News Service...
In a 29 April 2004 letter to Indian Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the IFJ expressed deep concern over the death of freelance journalist Asiya Jeelani and the injuring of Khurram Parvez and Kumar Bharti. On 20 April, Asiya Jeelani, a freelance journalist, was killed in a mine explosion in India-controlled Kashmir, while working with the Coalition of Civil society to prepare a report on...
Magazine publisher RR Gopal, of the Tamil-language publication Nakkheeran, was freed on bail on 20 December on the order of the Tamil Nadu High Court. Gopal, who has been held in Chennai Central prison for more than eight months, remains accused of conspiracy "to separate Tamil Nadu from the Indian State" and possession of a firearm. He was charged on 11 April 2003 under the Prevention of...
R.R. Gopal, editor of the Tamil-language magazine "Nakkheeran", has been sent to prison in Poonnamalle, near Chennai. Judge L.Rajendran formally charged him with "conspiring to promote the secession of Tamil Nadu state" and "possession of a firearm" under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA). It is the first time a journalist had been charged in India under the controversial law. Police said...
In a 5 February 2003 letter to Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, CPJ condemned the murder of journalist Parvaz Mohammed Sultan, editor of an independent wire service based in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir State. On the evening of 31 January, Sultan, editor of the News and Feature Alliance (NAFA), was shot dead by an unidentified gunman. Two men entered Sultan's office...
Kumar Badal, a reporter with the news website Tehelka.com, was freed on bail on 13 January after six months in prison, by order of the supreme court in New Delhi. His release was welcomed by Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal, who noted that the site had been victimised for the past two years. Bail was set at 50,000 rupees (about 1,000 euros). At the last minute, police tried to foil the court order...
