Media outlets critical of govt intimidated by officials in India: US human rights report

Washington: A US report on human rights on Tuesday has noted that the government officials at both the local and national levels in India were involved in "intimidating" critical media outlets through physical harassment and attacks.

According to the India section of the 2021 Country Report on Human Rights Practices released by the State Department as mandated by the Congress, independent media in India used to be active and generally expressed a wide variety of views.

"There were reports from journalists and NGOs that government officials at both the local and national levels were involved in intimidating critical media outlets through physical harassment and attacks, pressuring owners, targeting sponsors, encouraging frivolous lawsuits, and in some areas blocking communication services, such as mobile telephones and the internet, and constraining freedom of movement," it said.

NGOs in India alleged criminal prosecutions and investigations were used to intimidate journalists critical of the government, it said.

India in the past rejected similar reports. The Indian government has asserted that India has well-established democratic practices and robust institutions to safeguard the rights of all.

The government has emphasised that the Indian Constitution provides for adequate safeguards under various statutes for ensuring the protection of human rights.

The annual State Department report on human rights said that there were significant human rights issues including credible reports of: unlawful and arbitrary killings, including extrajudicial killings by the government or its agents; torture and cases of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by police and prison officials; and harsh and life-threatening prison conditions.

The State Department says that the Biden Administration has put human rights at the centre of US domestic and foreign policy. The report paints a clear picture of where human rights and democracy are under threat.

It highlights where governments have unjustly jailed, tortured, or even killed political opponents, activists, human rights defenders, or journalists, including in Russia, China, North Korea, Nicaragua, and Syria.

The report documents abuses of peaceful protests demanding democracy and fundamental freedoms in countries such as Burma, Belarus, Cuba, Hong Kong, and Sudan.

In the India section of the report, the State Department says that there were also reports of arbitrary arrest and detention by government authorities; political prisoners or detainees and alleged that there were arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; restrictions on free expression and media, including violence, threats of violence, or unjustified arrests or prosecutions against journalists.