Tag: press freedom

  • Mumbai police detain Republic TV founder Arnab Goswami in suicide case

    Mumbai police detain Republic TV founder Arnab Goswami in suicide case

    Mumbai police have arrested Arnab Goswami, founder of Republic TV, for his alleged role in a two-year-old suicide case, prompting journalists to call this an assault on media freedom.

    Reports in India media stated the controversial anchorperson was detained for investigation over his alleged role in the death of an architect who designed his studio. Anvay Naik took his life in 2018 and his wife accused Goswami of not paying his fee.

    Goswami and Republic TV network deny the allegation.

    As the police team arrested Goswami from his house, videos making rounds on social media showed scuffles taking place between Goswami and the police team. The Republic TV also claimed that the police “manhandled” Goswami’s family members.

    The arrest of the Indian journalist known for his aggressive style of questioning has been denounced by the media professionals, who termed it an attack on press freedom.

    They said they would speak up for Arnab Goswami despite the fact that the latter failed to do so when his peers were targetted by the government.

    The Editors Guild of India, a body of India’s editorial leaders, also came forward to defend the journalist.

    Another journalist expressed concerns over the increase in attacks on press freedom.

  • Newspaper office sealed in occupied Kashmir for ‘speaking out’ against govt

    In another attempt to stifle the press freedom, the authorities in India-occupied Kashmir have sealed the office of Kashmir Times, one of the oldest newspapers in the occupied region, for “speaking out” against the government.

    The Estates Department sealed the office, which is located in the press enclave in the main city Srinagar. The move prompted a strong response from the editor of the newspaper, who termed it a vendetta.

     Anuradha Bhasin said the government’s action was a “vendetta for speaking out” while noting that no process of law was followed. “No eviction notice was served on us and neither was there any formal communication,” the Press Trust of India quoted her as saying. 

    On her Twitter handle, she wrote: “Today, Estates Dept locked our office without any due process of cancellation & eviction, same way as I was evicted from a flat in Jammu, where my belongings including valuables were handed over to ‘new allottee.’ Vendetta for speaking out! No due process followed. How peevish!” 

     Reporters without Borders (RSF) termed the act an attack on press freedom. 

    “The office of The Kashmir Times, one of the most respected newspapers of the region, has just been sealed by the local govt after its editor AnuradhaBhasin was recently manhandled. @RSF_inter is appalled by this new attack on press freedom in the valley,” it said.