World
Indian Muslim journalist walks out of jail after 850 days
Siddique Kappan, who spent 28 months in jail with out trial, was charged beneath anti-terror legal guidelines for reporting on a gang-rape case.
Indian journalist Siddique Kappan, who spent two and half years in jail with out trial, has walked out of jail greater than a month after he was granted bail by a court docket within the northern Indian metropolis of Prayagraj in a cash laundering case.
He was initially charged beneath varied sections of the Indian penal code. Anti-terror and cash laundering prices had been pressed later. He was granted bail within the Illegal Actions Prevention Act (UAPA) case by the Supreme Courtroom in September.
“I’m pleased to stroll out of jail after virtually 2.5 years,” 43-year-old Kappan informed Al Jazeera. “I’m hopeful to defend my half and show my innocence.”
Journalist rights watchdog, the Committee to Defend Journalists (CPJ), welcomed Kappan’s launch and demanded that every one prices be dropped in opposition to him.
I had solely gone to report. What’s fallacious with that? I used to be solely carrying two pens and a notepad
Kappan was arrested in October 2020 within the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, the place he had travelled to report on a high-profile gang-rape case. He and three others, together with his driver, had been accused of belonging to a Muslim organisation and ultimately charged with conspiracy to incite violence.
His driver Mohammad Alam was granted bail final month whereas two others stay behind bars.
Kappan has maintained his innocence and says that he had solely travelled from his residence state of Kerala to do his duties as a journalist.
“I had solely gone to report. What’s fallacious with that? I used to be solely carrying two pens and a notepad,” he stated in regards to the case of a younger Dalit girl gang-raped by upper-caste Hindu males in Hathras metropolis in Uttar Pradesh.
The 43-year-old stated that the previous two years had been a tricky time for him and his household.
“My spouse and three youngsters struggled rather a lot. But, I’ve to thank individuals for the assist me and my household acquired.”
Geeta Seshu, who advocates for press freedom in India, informed Al Jazeera that Kappan’s arrest beneath powerful “anti-terror” legal guidelines “is an excessive illustration of the fragility of the liberty of journalists to work in India”.
“Whereas Kappan was picked up even earlier than he might do his story, different journalists are continuously within the crosshairs for his or her writings,” Seshu, founding father of the Free Speech Collective based mostly in Mumbai, stated.
Imprisoned #journalists in #India as of February 2, 2022:
1) Aasif Sultan (since August 27, 2018)
2) Gautam Navlakha (since April 14, 2020)
3) Sajad Gul (since January 05, 2022)
4) Fahad Shah (since February 4, 2022)
5) Rupesh Kumar Singh (since July 17, 2022) #PressFreedom— CPJ Asia (@CPJAsia) February 2, 2023
India has seen a pointy decline in media freedoms for the reason that Hindu nationalist authorities of Prime Minister Narendra Modi took workplace in 2014.
Essential reporters typically discover themselves behind bars and hounded on social media by supporters of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Get together (BJP).
In response to the World Press Freedom Index launched by Reporters With out Borders final Could, India’s rating dropped to 150 from 142 amongst 180 nations.
“The web results of this intimidation and persecution, each seen and invisible, is the erosion of the liberty of journalists to analyze and report vital points, to remark and inform public opinion, and to query these in energy,” Seshu added.
Extra reporting by Rifat Fareed from New Delhi