Journalist Released from 2-Year Imprisonment in India
An Indian journalist who had been detained for more than two years without a trial was released on bail on Thursday in a money laundering case.
Siddique Kappan was arrested in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh in October 2020, where he had gone to report on a high-profile gang rape case.
He and three others were charged with conspiracy to incite violence after being accused of belonging to an Islamist fundamentalist group.
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Kappan has maintained his innocence, claiming that he was only traveling from his home state of Kerala to perform his journalistic duties.
He was released on bail in the case in September of last year but remained in custody for months longer due to a separate money laundering case against him.
“I will continue to fight draconian legislation. They kept me in jail even after I was released on bail “He told the NDTV news network after being released from jail in Lucknow.
“These two years were extremely difficult, but I was never afraid.”
Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government took office in 2014, India’s press freedom ranking has dropped ten places to 150 out of 180 countries surveyed by Reporters Without Borders.
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Critical reporters are frequently arrested and harassed on social media by supporters of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
According to Reporters Without Borders, nine other journalists are currently imprisoned in India.
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