India: CFWIJ condemns the unjustified police harassment against journalists Rana Ayyub and Saba Naqvi

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June 17, 2021- Freelance journalist Saba Naqvi and the Washington Post journalist Rana Ayyub are facing a criminal complaint filed by a police inspector. The complaint that was filed on June 16 includes the names of news outlet The Wire and a few politicians from the opposition Congress party. It accuses Rana and Saba of posting a video on Twitter with misleading and unverified information. 

The Police are investigating the journalists on the charges of provoking public riots, insulting religious beliefs, and criminal conspiracy. If the journalists get convicted under the mentioned charges in the complaint, Rana and Saba may have to face imprisonment for up to one to two years. CFWIJ is highly concerned about this targeted threat against women journalists. We consider it a blatant violation of journalists’ rights and demand Uttar Pradesh police immediately drop the criminal investigation and let women journalists work freely. 

Rana Ayyub, Saba Naqvi, and many other notable journalists and new outlets shared a video that appeared to be from the Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh on Twitter on June 14. The mentioned video was perceived as some Hindu men were beating an elderly Muslim man while cutting off his beard and making him chant Hind slogans. The UP police however ruled out any communal angle and described the incident as a personal dispute between six people. Though the journalists noted that their tweets were based on the initial reports regarding the incident. 

Now the journalists are facing legal harassment by UP police under the criminal complaint carrying the charges under sections 153 of provoking to cause a public riot, 153A of promoting enmity between religious groups, 295A of insulting religious beliefs, 505 of public mischief, and 120B of criminal conspiracy according to the Indian Penal Code. 

Rana Ayyub clarified on her Twitter account that the tweets she had shared earlier were based on a video and various new reports that were published by print and electronic media, including Indian Express.” She stated that she will wait for the truth to prevail at the earliest in the view of cops investigating the matter claiming a different narrative.

CFWIJ documented cases of such legal harassment against women journalists in the past as well. On February 23, Unnao police station registered an FIR (first information report) against MOJO story, a news portal that is being run by Barkha Dutt, an accomplished woman journalist. FIR nominated seven different Twitter handles for creating misinformation. Barkha called this action brazen harassment and bullying. On February 15, National Herald’s Mrinal Pande was targeted with an FIR mentioning sedition charges for sharing allegedly unverified information. The FIR was filed by New Delhi police regarding her reporting on farmers' protests. A week before that, Ismat Araa, editor for The Wire, faced a similar sort of complaint against her from a resident of Rampur, Uttar Pradesh. The journalist was accused of sharing an article that implicated the police for the death of a farmer during a demonstration on Indian Republic Day.  

The Coalition For Women In Journalism demands Indian law enforcement authorities to stop using the laws unjustifiably against women journalists. We urge Uttar Pradesh police to drop the criminal charges against Rana Ayyub and Saba Naqvi. Women journalists must not feel targeted for their work, especially when they do realize their responsibility and accept it publicly.