India / Asia

  
Kashmiri students use the internet at a Tourist Reception Centre in Srinagar on December 3, 2019, amid an internet suspension across the region as part of a partial communication blockade by the Indian government. Despite a Supreme Court ruling in January 2020, internet access has only been partially restored, and many news outlets remain offline. (AFP/Tauseef Mustafa)

Kashmiri journalists, news outlets still offline after India partially restores internet

New York, January 28, 2020—Internet access was partially restored in most of Jammu and Kashmir on January 25, but service remained slow and social media platforms and many local news websites remain blocked, The New York Times and other outlets reported. In a statement circulated to CPJ and news outlets, the Kashmir Press Club said…

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Women form a human shield to protect Shaheen Abdulla, a journalist with news website Maktoob Media, from police wielding batons at Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi, India, on December 15, 2019. Journalists have been attacked in cities across India while covering recent protests. (Ghulam Hussain via Reuters)

Journalists beaten, detained while covering protests in cities across India

Beginning in December 2019, hundreds of thousands of people across India protested against new laws that they allege discriminate against Muslims in the country, according to news reports. Demonstrators and police attacked journalists covering the protests, and authorities detained reporters covering them, according to news reports and journalists who spoke to CPJ.

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Indian security forces personnel patrol a street in Srinagar on January 10, 2020. Press freedom concerns persist in Jammu and Kashmir, where internet has been only partially restored after a months-long shutdown. (Reuters/Danish Ismail)

Lawyer Mishi Choudhury on what India shutdowns ruling means for journalists

On January 14, the Jammu and Kashmir administration partially restored mobile internet in a handful of districts, according to news reports. The administration, which is directly controlled by the Indian government, had imposed a complete communication ban in the restive region after withdrawing its special status under the Indian constitution in August 2019, as CPJ…

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Journalists use the internet inside a government-run media center in Srinagar on January 10, 2020. The Indian Supreme Court today criticized internet restrictions that have obstructed the media for five months. (Reuters/Danish Ismail)

India should restore internet in Kashmir as court orders shutdown review

New York, January 10, 2020–The Indian Supreme Court ordered a review of the legal process used to implement the ongoing shutdown in Indian-controlled Kashmir today. The ruling affirmed that freedom of speech “using the medium of internet is constitutionally protected.”

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Freelance journalist Santosh Yadav, left, with human rights defender Shalini Gera and CPJ India Correspondent Kunal Majumder, during a convention on journalist safety in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, in February 2019. A court on January 2 acquitted Yadav of several charges, ending a four-year legal battle. (CPJ)

‘I feel like a weight has been lifted’ freelance journalist Santosh Yadav says as Chhattisgarh court ends four-year legal nightmare

On January 2, freelance journalist Santosh Yadav got his life back when the National Investigation Agency court in Jagdalpur acquitted him of charges of helping Maoists militants. The ruling marked the end of a legal nightmare that lasted over four years for Yadav, who says that he was threatened and beaten in custody, before being…

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Police officers chase protesters in New Delhi, India, on December 17, 2019. Several journalists have been attacked since the protests began. (AP/Manish Swarup)

Journalists attacked by police, disrupted by demonstrators while covering protests in India

New York, December 17, 2019 — Indian authorities must ensure the safety of all journalists covering protests across the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Telangana police have accused Nellutla Venugopal, editor of Telugu monthly Veekshanam, of being part of a Maoist conspiracy against the state. (Image via Venugopal)

Indian police accuse journalist Nellutla Venugopal of being part of a Maoist conspiracy

New Delhi, November 20, 2019 — Police in India’s Telangana state should immediately drop their allegations against journalist Nellutla Venugopal and stop harassing journalists for their political leanings, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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The Indian government has threatened to revoke the overseas citizenship of journalist Aatish Taseer, who has criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (Image used with permission)

Indian government threatens to cancel journalist Aatish Taseer’s overseas citizenship

New Delhi, November 7, 2019 — The Indian government must cease making threats to revoke the overseas citizenship of journalist Aatish Taseer, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Karnataka state police are seen in Bangalore on June 7, 2018. Police recently arrested publisher Doddipalya Narasimha Murthy in a 25-year-old case. (AFP/Manjunath Kiran)

Indian police accuse publisher of treason in 25-year-old case

New Delhi, November 1, 2019 — Karnataka police must immediately release Indian publisher Doddipalya Narasimha Murthy, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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The logo of the Israeli NSO Group company is shown on a building where they had offices in Herzliya, Israel. WhatsApp has accused NSO Group of selling technology to help governments spy on WhatsApp users, including journalists. (AP/Daniella Cheslow)

Indian journalists reported among targets of alleged NSO Group WhatsApp hack

New York, October 31, 2019—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by news reports that several journalists in India have been notified that they were among the targets of suspicious WhatsApp contact that may have been used to install advanced surveillance technology on their phones. Facebook-owned WhatsApp this week said it filed a lawsuit accusing…

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