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New Delhi: The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on India to mark Human Rights Day by immediately releasing all imprisoned journalists, warning that the Modi-led regime\u2019s continued detention and harassment of media workers is severely damaging India\u2019s global democratic standing.<\/p>\n
According to Kashmir Media Service, CPJ issued the appeal in a letter addressed to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, noting that journalists Irfan Meraj and Rupesh Kumar Singh will spend Human Rights Day behind bars\u2014symbolic of the shrinking space for press freedom in the country. While the number of jailed journalists currently stands at two\u2014down from seven between 2021 and 2023\u2014CPJ said at least 15 journalists have been investigated under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) since 2014.<\/p>\n
CPJ\u2019s Asia-Pacific Director, Beh Lih Yi, wrote that India\u2019s ongoing use of anti-terror laws against journalists contradicts Modi\u2019s own public claims that \u201cdemocracy is in our DNA\u201d. She stressed that the treatment of jailed journalist Rupesh Kumar Singh, incarcerated for over three years, highlights the inhumane conditions faced by journalists detained under fabricated charges, including lack of medical care, denial of basic facilities and prolonged cell confinement.<\/p>\n
The letter said that India, as a signatory to international human rights conventions and as a state that guarantees freedom of expression under Article 19(1)(a) of its own constitution, is legally obligated to safeguard the rights of journalists. CPJ warned that continued repression \u201crisks eroding India\u2019s reputation as the world\u2019s largest democracy and a leading voice of the Global South\u201d.<\/p>\n
Calling for immediate steps to free all imprisoned journalists, CPJ emphasised that reporters must be allowed to return to their families and work without fear of reprisal. Over 1,500 journalists from more than 100 countries joined CPJ\u2019s global solidarity action this year, urging world governments\u2014especially India\u2014to stop the use of draconian laws and end impunity for attacks on the press.<\/p>\n
CPJ said that India\u2019s credibility as a responsible member of the international community depends on ending its ongoing crackdown on journalists and ensuring an environment where the media can operate safely and independently.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New Delhi: The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on India to mark Human Rights Day by immediately releasing all imprisoned journalists, warning that the Modi-led regime\u2019s continued detention and harassment of media workers is severely damaging India\u2019s global democratic standing. According to Kashmir Media Service, CPJ issued the appeal in a …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":189918,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[5],"class_list":["post-189917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-india","tag-top-story"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/assests\/2025\/12\/7.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=189917"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189917\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":189920,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189917\/revisions\/189920"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/189918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=189917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=189917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=189917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}