Amidst the on-going nationwide protest
against CAA-NRC several journalist were attacked, intimidated and harassed by
the police when they were doing the ground reporting. Ironically most of them
come from the minority Muslim community. It shows the bias against the certain
community from the state machinery. Several other photo and video journalists
were also harassed in these protests by the mobs and protesters.
Here is the current
list of the attacked journalists (11/12/19 - 21/12/19):
1. Shaheen Abdulla, Maktoob Media
(Delhi, 15th December, 2019)
Case: On December 15, journalist Shaheen Abdulla, Associate
Creative Editor of Maktoob, an English digital news platform based in New
Delhi, was attacked outside the Jamia Millia Islamia campus by Delhi Police.
The cops beat the journalist with lathis as he was reporting the people’s
massive protest against India’s recent Citizenship Amendment Act. He was
mercilessly beaten up by a group of ten cops. Later, Shaheen was taken to Holy
Family Hospital, New Delhi.
First-hand account: "I was covering it for Maktoob Media, one of
the organizations which I work for. I was updating the news from there. And I
was with the press delegation. We were all together there. When I saw them
trapped (the female students of Jamia Millia Islamia), I rushed towards them. I
knew them personally. I tried to help them to move to a safe place. When the
cops came running, I showed them my press card and told them that I am a
journalist. 'Don't beat me up; I am not here for any kind of violence. I am
just trying to help them for medical attention’. But they started tapping me
with their lathis on my legs. While I tried explaining them with the ID in my
hand, they kept beating me. Then we went to a safe place, cops came in a group
and they were like 'now you come out'. They tried to induce me to follow their
instruction. The girls protected me by shielding around. When girls started to come
in-front, cops started to come inside. And somehow they (cops) got a hand on me
and they pulled me outside," Shaheen said in a special interview with NDTV
on December 16.
2.
Bushra Sheikh, BBC (Delhi, 15th
December, 2019)
Case: Bushra Sheikh, a journalist with the BBC said as she was covering
the students’ protest in South Delhi, a male cop pulled her hair, hurled abuses
and hit her with a baton. I came here for BBC's coverage. The police took away
my phone and broke it. A male cop pulled my hair. They hit me with a baton and
when I asked them for my phone, they hurled abuses at me.
Terming the assault as undemocratic, Indian Women’s
Press Corp (IWPC) said, “We note with concern and distress that this has now
become a pattern to attack journalists particularly women journalists to
intimidate them".
3.
Shariq Adeel Yousuf, Pal Pal
News (Delhi, 15th December, 2019)
First-hand account: Shariq Adeel Yousuf, a
reporter with the YouTube channel Pal Pal News said first he took the
permission from the police to go inside the protest site at Jamia Millia
University where several other journalists were covering the protest. “After 20
minutes when I came back outside, at a certain point few police men started
abusing me and asking for my phone. When I refused they started brutally
beating on my hand by laathi. Then they broke my phone by their boots and took
my press card.”
4.
Azaan Javaid, The Print (Srinagar,
17th December, 2019)
First-hand account: In
his first-person account ThePrint’s Journalist Azaan Javaid said On Tuesday
afternoon, I and a couple of fellow journalists drove to Srinagar’s Islamia
College of Science and Commerce where we had heard a student protest was
underway. We
wanted to speak to the students to find out what the protests were about,
whether they were related to the anti-citizenship law
demonstrations that were happening across campuses in the country. Once
we got there, we saw personnel of the J&K police and CRPF standing guard
outside the locked gate of the college. Stones were being thrown from inside
the college towards the main road where we were standing along with the
security forces.
Sensing
that we won’t be able to interact with the students, we decided to return. On
our way back, I saw Rashid Khan, Station House Officer of Srinagar’s Rainawari
area, grab a couple of youth who were walking on the main road — at some
distance from the protest site. I,
along with other journalists, began clicking pictures and videos of the
incident. On seeing this, Khan first threatened me and demanded that I stop
using my phone. When I protested, he snatched the phone.
Khan
and Superintendent of Police Sajad Shah, who had been watching the commotion,
then questioned my press credentials and asked why I wasn’t wearing a press
badge. I said my badge was in my bag and showed them my card. I then demanded
that the two return my phone, to which SP Shah said I should visit his office
to collect it. When
I protested the behaviour of the two officers, SP Shah began to abuse me. “Do
whatever you want,” he said, following it up with a string of abuses.
This was when the policemen on duty started hitting
me. It was only after the intervention of some journalists that I was let go.
At some distance, I saw another colleague being thrashed by Khan.
5.
Mujeeb, Shabbeer, Anees and 5
other media persons from Malayali news outlets, Asianet News, Asianet News, News 18, MediaOne
and TwentyFour News (Mangaluru, 20th December, 2019)
Case: Eight
Malayali media persons who were taken into custody on Friday morning by the
Mangaluru police were released after seven hours of detention. The media
persons from four prominent Malayalam news outlets — Asianet News, News 18,
MediaOne and TwentyFour News — were taken to the Karnataka-Kerala border
and handed over to the Kerala police.
The
eight people, including a driver who worked with MediaOne, were detained from
the Wenlock hospital where they were covering the post-mortem of the two
protesters who died in the police firing in Mangaluru.
Speaking
to the media following their release, the detained media persons said that the
Karnataka police had treated them like ‘criminals.’ Though national media
reporters and Kannada media were covering the post mortem, only Malayalam media
reporters were detained. At the time they were detained, it was falsely
reported by a few Karnataka outlets and then by an English website Daijiworld
reported that fake journalists who had tried to enter Mangaluru with deadly
weapons had been arrested.
Despite
a few of the journalists having ID cards and accreditations issued by the
Kerala government, the reporters were kept in a police van for hours. The
police did not even let them drink water or eat food.
Several
prominent leaders including Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and
Karnataka AICC General secretary KC Venugopal condemned the detention. In a
statement put out on Facebook, Pinarayi said “I strongly condemn those who have
been portraying media reporters as violent and their news collection devices as
weapons. It is a fascist attitude to curb media freedom. Public dissent should
only rise higher against this attitude.”
First-hand account: “We were one of the
first few media persons to reach the hospital. Around 8.30 am, the Mangaluru
Police Commissioner asked us to leave the hospital premises. We went out and
then he asked for ID cards and accreditation, then we were detained. The
MediaOne reporter Shabber, cameraperson Aneesh and their driver were kept
separately. The police took away Sahbeer’s bluetooth headset. But Kannada media
and national media were allowed to report from the same place,” Mujeeb Rahman,
an Asianet News reporter said.
6.
Omar Rashid, The Hindu
(Lucknow, 20th December, 2019)
First-hand account: Omar Rashid, a journalist with The Hindu said in his
first-person account; Around 6:45 pm on Friday evening, I was trying to grab a
quick meal at a dhaba outside the Uttar Pradesh BJP office, waiting to hear
about a press conference to be held by the UP government a few blocks away,
when at least four men in plainclothes barged in. I was accompanied by Robin
Verma, a local activist and friend, and two others, both journalists. The men
did not identify themselves and inquired about us using strong and aggressive
language. They told me they wanted to question me about something. At the very
first instance, I revealed my identity as a journalist and asked them what the
matter was all about. However, they packed the two of us, Robin Verma and me,
into a police jeep, snatched my mobile phone and asked me to not call or inform
anyone or I would regret it. They refused to explain anything to me and asked
me to talk only when they asked.
They drove us to the Hazratganj police station a km
away, where we were told a senior police officer wanted to talk to us. We were
then escorted to a room — it looked like a cyber cell — where within seconds of
entering, cops, already stationed there, started thrashing Robin with a thick
leather belt and slapped him many times.
They locked the room and asked me to keep silent when I
protested why I was brought there. The policemen threatened me they would book
me under 120B of the Indian Penal Code if I didn't keep quiet and also said
they had evidence to show I was part of the arsonists who vandalized police
property and engaged in violence during the protest against
the Citizenship Amendment Act. I again clarified that I am a journalist
and showed them my identity cards. One of them knew me as a journalist but that
obviously was not considered.
They responded by abusing me and said I should keep my
journalism to myself, in abusive Hindi. My Kashmiri background was referred to
several times and despite informing them about my newspaper, they continued
with their questions and threats. “You are a suspect,” I was told and asked to
shut up.
For the next few minutes, the policemen badly beat up
Robin Verma. They made the same charges against him. We were then packed into
the rear seat of a police jeep and driven a few km away to the Sultanpuri
police outpost without being told anything.
Here too, we were taken into a tiny room and questioned.
The cops repeatedly asked me about the whereabouts of some “Kashmiris” and
where I was hiding them. I replied to all their questions in the negative as I
had no clue why I was brought there in the first place. A few minutes later,
two policemen, of the rank of CO, came in.
I was told to stand up. The police officer, whose name I
don't know, told me he would set me right. He was wearing protective gear.
I was then taken to another room in the quarters of a
constable, where I was also photographed like a suspect.
The same cop who threatened to put me in place, again
asked me about the “Kashmiris” and said he would tear out all my beard and
thrash me if I didn't answer his questions as per his liking. Since I didn't
have my phone, I could not note down the long list of expletives used against
me. He left after some time and I was kept in the room till around 8:30 pm. I
was then called to the office of the Circle Officer of Hazratganj who
questioned me for a few more minutes. I was asked the same questions I was
asked earlier: if I was a part of the protest, if I knew certain individuals,
especially Kashmiris and about my professional and background. I informed them
that I was indeed present during the protests, as a journalist covering it. The
CO asked me if I felt regret at the violence during the protests and
refused to believe me when I did. He also lectured me on the
"hypocrisy" of Leftist ideology and heavily criticised China and its
clampdown on citizens.
By then, the information had reached the CMO.
7.
Ratandip Choudhury and NDTV
Crew (Guwahati, 11th December, 2019)
First-hand account: NDTV Crew attacked in
Guwahati amid protests against CAB on 11th December. Talking to NDTV
Ratandip Choudhury said “In the morning we seen the peaceful protests at the
secretariat by the students but until the evening we did see that some other
outside elements got inside the protesting crowd and it slowly turned in to a
violent mob and started vandalising public property. That’s when police
actually used force. By that time curfew enforced and we were coming back from
the secretariat to our office. In that area at one point mob tried to attack
our vehicle. I got down from the vehicle and tried to explain them that we are
from media and we are reporting what is happening and we are reporting your
demands. But, it didn’t seem to me that the people inside the mob had any idea
about what the protest was all about. They were emotionally charged then they
tried to manhandle me, they broke the wind shield of the car but somehow we
were able to escape…”
We Need To Stand Up Against this Anarchy! Let these goons who call themselves govt... go down, lets pledge this not only in words but show in action as every vote shall count... LEST WE ALL PERISH ��WE SHALL NOT BE ABLE TO FACE OUR FUTURE��
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