The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has condemned a crackdown on journalists writing for websites considered critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The party said Tuesday’s raids were a “brazen assault on the media and the fundamental right to freedom of expression” and called for a mobilization of all democrats against the Modi government’s increasing authoritarianism.
Website Newsclick editor Prabir Purkayastha and human resources chief Amit Chakravarty were arrested on Tuesday after police interrogated hundreds of journalists for the site as well as researchers for Tricontinental Research Services, which works with the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research.
Author Vijay Prashad wrote that police interrogations of hundreds of detained journalists lasted an average of eight hours, and reportedly involved questioning about their coverage of the farmers’ movement of 2020-21, attacks on Muslims in Delhi in 2020, and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Indian authorities say Newsclick is being investigated because of claims in the New York Times that it received money from a U.S. millionaire who funded “Chinese propaganda.” The site denies the accusation.
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