As Tripura cracks down on journalists, in what shape is media freedom in India?

Several journalists in India are currently facing legal action under stringent criminal laws for reporting on critical events and developments unfolding in the country.

In a recent example, on November 3, journalists Shyam Meera Singh, Meer Faisal and Mohammad Sartaj Alam were booked by the Tripura police for their tweets regarding the violence that has been unfolding in the state since October end, following attacks by Hindu religious groups on mosques and properties owned by Muslims.

In the latest update on the Tripura violence case, two Tripura journalists working with the HW News Network, Samriddhi K Sakunia and Swarna Jha, were booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly spreading communal tensions.

November 16 is annually observed as International Day for Tolerance to foster respect and understanding among diverse identities, religions and cultures across the world. UNESCO recognises that promoting press freedom and press pluralism is at the core of ensuring unhindered access to information and countering intolerance. As the day marks tolerance and press freedom, we spoke to some of the journalists facing action.

What transpired in Tripura

"My tweets were informative and I was amplifying. While the individuals perpetrating violence are not booked under the anti-terror law, there's a crackdown on journalists. This is an intimidation to us and even Twitter under the pretext of hate speech. It is also a message to the common people who are re-tweeting any information," says Singh, who works with NewsClick and has been actively writing and sharing information about the developments in Tripura.

The recent attacks in Tripura were perpetrated by Hindu religious groups who wanted to hold rallies against the attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh, which borders the north-eastern state. Tripura has been governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since 2018.

Singh was booked for writing three words, "Tripura is burning", on his timeline. Singh told Mid-day, as soon as he was alerted by a Supreme Court lawyer about the FIR, he wrote about it on Twitter, highlighting the action taken by the Tripura police against the journalists. This garnered attention and support from many, including opposition parties, who condemned the attack on press freedom at a time when information dissemination is crucial.

The First Information Report (FIR) against Singh, Faisal and Alam has been registered under section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (1967), which empowers the state to take stringent action against an individual or organisation taking part in an activity that is deemed or declared to be unlawful by the state.

The FIR copy, accessed by Mid-day, lists 102 links including tweets of 68 individuals and several other Facebook posts and YouTube accounts. In a notice to Twitter, the West Agartala police have requested the microblogging site to block the accounts and provide the details of the 68 individuals.

A writ petition was filed by Singh and two lawyers, who are also booked under UAPA, challenging the "vague definition of unlawful activities" under the act and seeking quashing of FIRs by the Tripura police. The apex court has agreed to list the matter urgently.

"The state is trying to subdue or eliminate our voice so that we as journalists don't do our duty and bring their failures to light. If I get scared and stop reporting, then it truly will be in abhorrent injustice towards the freedom of speech that we all strive for," says Faisal, who works with Maqtoob Media and has consistently reported on violence against minority groups.

Faisal was booked for writing "#Tripura update : At around 6:30pm today, 32-year-old Parvas Ali s/o Abdul Kuddus was beaten up by a group of 3-4 people in Kadamtala mosque area. Parvas was trying to take pictures of a group of 30-40 roaming around in an area where Section 144 was imposed. #SaveTripuraMuslims".

Journalists protest at the Kashmir Press Club against the internet restrictions during a lockdown in Srinagar. Photo: AFP.

Both Singh and Faisal say they did not receive any intimation by the Tripura police before a case was filed against them and that they came to know about the FIR via lawyers. They say that while they are aware that any action can be taken against them, this has not deterred them from doing their job as journalists as before.

According to Singh, though the process of fighting your case involves a lot of mental and physical trauma, those who are speaking up and asking critical questions must not stop.

"While I am reporting, I am wary of giving out my location to anyone. I have been catering to multiple calls through the day since the news of the FIR came out. Even if we get justice in say six months or longer, what about the time of our lives we have lost investing in fighting the case? As journalists, we could have used it well," adds Singh.

The Editors' Guild of India (EGI) issued a statement condemning the legal action against the journalists under UAPA. Several other press coalitions, including CPJ and RSF, have criticised the move. While EGI has mentioned Singh's name in the statement, there was no mention of Faisal.

The worrying state of journalism in India

India has been ranked at 142 out of 180 nations in the World Press Freedom Index for two successive years, 2020 and 2021. The annual report is published by the Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) or Reporters Without Borders, a global watchdog, which has also listed India as "bad" for journalism and one of the most dangerous countries for journalists.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), in India, 55 journalists have been reportedly killed and four have been imprisoned since 1992 and India ranks among the top 20 worst impunity offenders when it comes to taking action against murderers of journalists.

Journalist Siddique Kappan, who was also booked under various sections of the UAPA act for reporting on the 2020 Hathras gang rape case, has been jailed since one year and has been denied bail several times.

In the case of HW News Network's Sakunia and Jha, the FIR was filed in response to a complaint by the local Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) activists. The two journalists, who were detained by the Assam police on Sunday, were granted bail on Monday by the Chief Judicial Magistrate court in Gomati district of Tripura.

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