Journalists from diverse media outlets gathered at the Press Club of India to condemn the recent Delhi Police crackdown on NewsClick. This comes after the arrest of Prabir Purkayastha, NewsClick’s founder, and HR head Amit Chakraborty under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Siddharth Vardharajan from ‘The Wire’ read a letter to Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on behalf of a coalition of 16 media organizations. The letter, signed by groups like the Press Club of India and the Digipub News India foundation, urged the judiciary to uphold the Constitution and expressed concern about the “chilling” use of the UAPA against the media.
The letter also criticized the seizure of mobile phones and computers without data safety assurances. It emphasized that journalism should not be treated as terrorism and highlighted the misuse of investigating agencies against the press.
This protest underscores the importance of press freedom and unity against any attempts to suppress journalism in India.
