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Mohammed Zubair has long been a target of Indian authorities for his fact-checking, journalism and use of social media. In June 2022, he was arrested by Delhi and Uttar Pradesh state police for a tweet related to comments made by a BJP spokesperson on national TV and another satirical tweet posted in 2018.
Zubair was accused of “promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc.” and “deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage the religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs”. Whenever he got bail in one case, another FIR was registered.
Ultimately six cases were registered against Zubair, trapping him in a 24-day cycle of arrest, bail and re-arrest. The following month, the Indian Supreme Court granted Zubair bail and ordered his release. As a result of Zubair’s commitment to journalism and media freedom, he won the Journalism Award at the 2023 Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards. Mohammad Zubair has filed a petition seeking interim bail and quashing of the FIR.
On December 3, the case was scheduled to be heard by the Allahabad High Court, but the bench recused itself from it, planning a future hearing. The signed organizations below join Indian stakeholders, including the Press Club of India and DigiPub News India Foundation, to demand the immediate withdrawal of the FIR and the Government of India to protect free expression.
signed by:
Index on Censorship
Penn International
Digital Rights Foundation
Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
International Press Institute (IPI)
Electronic Frontier Foundation
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
Amnesty International
Human Rights Watch
Committee to Protect Journalists
IFEX
