New Delhi: International human rights organisations have come together to issue a letter extending support to fact checker and Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair, who has been charged in a criminal case by the Ghaziabad police over his social media post in which he shared a clipping of a provocative speech by controversial priest Yati Narsinghanand.
“On 27 November 2024, it was publicly announced that the Ghaziabad police had filed a First Information Report, or FIR, against Mohammed Zubair, an award-winning journalist and co-founder of Alt News, an India-based non-profit fact-checking website, based on legal provisions including Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS),” the letter reads.
Signed by 11 human rights organisations, including Index on Censorship, PEN International, Digital Rights Foundation, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), International Press Institute (IPI), Electronic Frontier Foundation, International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Committee to Protect Journalists and IFEX, the letter points to the continuous targeting of Zubair by Indian authorities for his fact-checking, journalism and use of social media.
Zubair, who is known for his commitment to media freedom, has been entangled in several cases over his social media posts in the past.
Also read: UP Police Accuse Mohammed Zubair of Endangering India’s Sovereignty, Unity, Integrity
“In June 2022, he was arrested by the Delhi and Uttar Pradesh state police for a tweet related to comments made by a BJP spokesperson on national TV and another satirical tweet posted in 2018,” the letter reads.
The letter states how Zubair was charged in multiple cases for “promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc.” and “deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.”
It further states that whenever he was granted bail in one case, another FIR would be lodged. “Ultimately, six were lodged against Zubair, ensnaring him in a 24 day cycle of arrest, bail and re-arrest,” the letter states.
The signed organisations have demanded the latest FIR be withdrawn immediately and for the Union government to protect free expression.
Also read: Mohammad Zubair of AltNews Hopes His Index on Censorship Award Will Be a ‘Flicker of Hope’
Earlier this year, Narsinghanand had made headlines for making incendiary remarks on Prophet Muhammad. He was also heard inciting people to burn the Prophet’s effigies at an event in Ghaziabad on September 29. When videos showing Narsinghanand making derogatory remarks went viral on social media, Muslims in several places in Uttar Pradesh took to the streets and demanded action against him.
The complaint was lodged by his aide Udita Tyagi, general secretary of Yati Narsimahanand Saraswati foundation, who alleged that Zubair shared an old clip to provoke violence against Narsinghanand. An FIR was lodged subsequently.
The police cited Sections 196 (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion), 228 (giving or fabricating false evidence), 299 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), 356(3) (related to defamation) and 351 (2) (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the BNS, against Zubair.
Zubair has challenged the FIR in a writ petition filed in the Allahabad high court and sought protection against coercive action.
