Shashi Tharoor demands 'immediate' release of journalists Siddique Kappan, Fahad Shah and Sajad Gul

On Friday, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor urged home minister Amit Shah to facilitate the "immediate and unconditional release" of journalists Fahad Shah, Sajad Gul and Siddique Kappan, the Indian Express reported.

Tharoor raised the issue during Zero Hour at the Lok Sabha and said the journalists must be released "in the interest of preserving the freedom of press". He pointed out that Kappan has been under "prolonged detention" under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act while both Shah and Gul were arrested on charges of sedition and under the Public Safety Act.

He said, "Journalists deserve to be able to do their job safely without fear of arrest or harassment. The Supreme Court too has recognised the importance of dissent in a vibrant democracy stating that a free and independent press is a vital pillar of democracy, which supports an informed and democratically-engaged citizenry, and allows those in power to be held accountable more meaningfully."

Kappan was arrested in October 2020 while on his way to Hathras to report on the gangrape of a Dalit woman. He's been in jail ever since. Read Newslaundry's series on the UP police's chargesheet against Kappan.

Gul, a trainee reporter with the Kashmir Walla, was arrested in January. He was booked under the Public Safety Act and imprisoned in Jammu’s Kot Balwal jail, for ostensibly posting a video on social media of “family members and relatives raising anti-India slogans after the killing of their kin, a militant”.

Shah, the editor of Kashmir Walla, was arrested on February 4 in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district for “uploading anti-national content” on social media – described by the police as “tantamount to glorifying terrorist activities”.