New Delhi: Two international groups – Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Guernica 37 Chambers – have called on the European Union to sanction four Delhi Police officers who were responsible for the raids on about 90 journalists associated with Newsclick in October last year.
During the raids, electronic devices of all those targeted were seized and are yet to be returned.
While RSF is a global media rights body, Guernica 37 Chambers which specialises in human rights and international criminal law.
“The actions of the Delhi Police Special Cell against journalists associated with NewsClick represent one of the most blatant attacks on press freedom in India. These raids, carried out on an unprecedented scale, with the deployment of 500 police officers, are an alarming step in an already worrying context of repression of journalists. These acts of terror require urgent action on the part of the European Union. This would be a strong act to alert the international community on the unacceptable repression of journalists, and a necessary warning to the Indian authorities in the run-up to the general elections,” said Celia Mercier, South Asia desk, Reporters Without Borders.
Two NewsClick employees – editor Prabir Purkayastha and administrator Amit Chakravarty – were arrested by the Delhi police under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) on Tuesday, October 3, the same day as the raids. They both remain in jail, but Chakravarty, who lives with a disability, has since become an approver for the Delhi Police.
“The Delhi Police’s Special Cell seems to be one of the go-to bodies for the government of India to target critics, including journalists. Their speciality lies in the use of the UAPA to target dissidents. Both the UN and multiple foreign governments have warned the UAPA is ripe for misuse by authorities,” Toby Cadman, Barrister and Founder of Guernica 37 Chambers, said.
The Delhi Police comes under the Union home ministry.
