Listing Siddique Kappan and 10 others, Editors Guild urges Yogi to release arrested journalists
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Arrested Keralite journalist, Siddique Kappan
New Delhi: The Editors Guild on India, the top body of editorial leaders in the country, in a letter on Monday has urged Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to address vital issues with respect to protecting freedom and the rights and safety of working journalists in the state.
The letter, hinting at the response to Arnab Goswami's arrest, appreciated the way the Chief Minister "promptly uphe the freedom of the press when an editor of a TV channel was arrested in Mumbai" and pointed out that there were far more compelling cases of intimidation and harassment by authorities of working journalists in his state.
The letter listed cases of eleven journalists, including Keralite journalist Siddique Kappan, who were prevented from doing their job. The letter alleged that many of the journalists were unjustifiably arrested on spurious charges.
Editors Guild of India has sent a letter to the Chief Minister of UP, on protection of press freedom and journalists' rights. The letter highlighted some of the recent cases of state excesses against journalists, and urged the CM to take steps for protecting their rights. pic.twitter.com/ahxJpLdKNc
— Editors Guild of India (@IndEditorsGuild) November 9, 2020
Other than Siddique Kappan, the letter cited the cases of Supriya Sharma, Ashish Tomar, Shakil Ahmed, Lakhan Singh, Aamir Khan, Moin Ahmad, Ravindra Saxena, Vijay Vineet, Manish Mishra and Asad Rizvi.
The letter reminded the Chief Minister that safeguarding of all constitutional rights "is crucial with respect to preserving the space for free media, more so at a time when the world has been in the throes of a pandemic".
The editors body urged to withdraw cases that are under review as well as to ensure safety of all working journalists in the state.