Indian police arrest Muslim journalist over tweet 'insulting' Hindu community

Published June 27, 2022
A file photo of Mohammed Zubair, the co-founder of the fact-checking site Alt News. — Mohammed Zubair Twitter
A file photo of Mohammed Zubair, the co-founder of the fact-checking site Alt News. — Mohammed Zubair Twitter

Delhi police on Monday arrested the Muslim co-founder of a fact-checking website after accusing him of insulting religious beliefs on Twitter, a network of digital media organisations said, condemning it as an attempt to harass him for his journalism.

Mohammed Zubair, who co-founded Alt News and regularly tweets on the rising marginalisation of the Muslims in the country, was arrested under two sections of a law related to maintaining religious harmony, said the DIGIPUB association.

Alt News's other co-founder, Pratik Sinha, said on Twitter no notice was given to Zubair before his arrest.

"He is currently detained inside a police bus in Burari for more than an hour," Sinha said, referring to a Delhi neighbourhood where Zubair was to be produced before a magistrate at his residence to authorise the journalist's remand.

A Delhi Police spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Calls to their office phone went unanswered.

Reuters partner ANI reported, citing Delhi Police sources, that Zubair was arrested based on a complaint from a Twitter account that said he insulted Hindus in a 2018 post commenting on the renaming of a hotel after the Hindu monkey god Hanuman.

Journalists demanded his immediate release.

"Journalist Zubair who routinely busted fake news, exposed the hate machinery in India has just been arrested," said Rana Ayyub, another Muslim journalist who often invites the wrath of Hindu hardliners.

"The country is punishing those who reported, documented the decline."

Ten human rights organisations said on World Press Freedom Day last month that Indian authorities were increasingly picking on journalists and online critics for their criticism of government policies and practices, including by prosecuting them under counter-terrorism and sedition laws.

Opinion

Editorial

Seeking investment
Updated 01 Nov, 2024

Seeking investment

Foreign visits will be fruitless unless crucial structural, policy reforms directly affecting investors are focused.
State-backed terror
01 Nov, 2024

State-backed terror

OVER the past year or so, India’s reportedly malign activities in foreign countries have increasingly come under the radar, with
Shared crisis
01 Nov, 2024

Shared crisis

WITH Lahore experiencing unprecedented levels of smog, the Punjab government has announced a series of “green...
Property valuation
Updated 31 Oct, 2024

Property valuation

Market valuation rates will not help boost tax revenues without plugging such loopholes in the system.
Hitting a wall
31 Oct, 2024

Hitting a wall

PAKISTAN still has a long way to go in defeating polio. Despite our decades-long fight against the debilitating...
Kurram violence
31 Oct, 2024

Kurram violence

DESPITE years of intermittent and bloody conflict in Kurram, the state has been unable to bring lasting peace to ...