New Delhi police have arrested Muslim journalist Muhammed Zubair, who runs the fact-checking website Alt News. Zubair is accused of having violated religious feelings in a twitter message from 2018. In the message, Zubair wrote about a hotel that changed its name from “Honeymoon Hotel” to Hanuman Hotel. “Hanuman” is the name of a Hindu god. The message has been interpreted as a critique of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalism. Honeymoon (honeymoon) becomes Hanuman (monkey god), the twitter message is read as a critique of Prime Minister Modi’s Hindu nationalism. Photo: Twitter Zubair was arrested on Monday and will be in custody this week. He is now accused of “promoting enmity between different groups based on religion, race, background, language etc”. New Delhi police say in a press release that “Zubair’s behavior is reprehensible, which justifies his detention. He is being questioned to clarify the conspiracy. Both Amnesty International and several journalists’ organizations are demanding the release of Zubair. Journalist Rana Ayyub tells the BBC that Zubair has regularly “revealed false news and reported on India’s hate machinery”. “The country punishes those who document its decline,” Ayyub said. – Revenge action from the authorities Zubair and his website have irritated the governing party BJP after a series of revelations of fake news from the party’s social media. – This is clearly an act of revenge by the authorities against a critical journalist, says India researcher at the University of Oslo Kenneth Bo Nielsen. – This is clearly an act of revenge by the authorities against a critical journalist, says India researcher at the University of Oslo Kenneth Bo Nielsen. Photo: SAGGIO * Oslo-Norway FRANCESCO Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have introduced several laws that favor Hindus over other religions. During Modi’s reign, freedom of the press in India has become less and less, says the researcher. – Narendra Modi’s party has well-equipped social media. Here, threats and often false accusations are made against opponents of opinion, Nielsen says. Nielsen says that the police are largely subject to political control so that defamatory and threatening statements from supporters of the governing party are often not punished. Critics of the regime, on the other hand, can be arrested and subjected to lengthy rounds in court. – Even if Zubair were to win this case, he will probably be ruined financially and spend several years having to defend himself. A comment that Prophet Muhammad’s indecent relationship with his minor wife Aisha has caused India’s Muslims to take to the streets. Photo: RIZWAN TABASSUM / AFP Prophet scandal The imprisonment of Zubair comes after the twitter appeal #ArrestZubair. The topic took off on social media after Zubair published a clip from a TV debate. Here came BJP spokeswoman Nupur Sharma with a derogatory comment about the Prophet Muhammad and his underage wife Aisha. The statement led to a diplomatic crisis between India and 20 Muslim countries. Two people were shot and killed by police and 130 people arrested in the large protests that followed Sharma’s comment. The Muslim countries withdrew their ambassadors from India. Zubair explains that the reason he published the TV clip was that he is upset on the TV channel. – I was more angry at the host, who gave her (Sharma) a platform. After she made the statements, no one stopped her. “I think it was bad, that’s why I tweeted this,” Zubair told Al Jazeera last week. This weekend, human rights activist Teesta Setalvad was arrested by the anti-terror police in the state of Gujerat .. Photo: FRANCIS MASCARENHAS / Reuters Afraid to speak Zubair is one of several regime critics who have been arrested recently. This weekend, human rights activist Teesta Setalvad was arrested by the anti-terror police in the state of Gujerat. Lawyer and human rights defender Jeevika Shiv tells news that she is afraid to speak out critically for fear of reprisals. The authorities crack down especially hard on people who talk to foreign media. – Our constitution gives us great freedom of speech, as long as we do not harm others, says Shiv, who thinks carefully about what she wants to be quoted on. – But we must be able to talk about the fact that it is problematic that people are arrested for referring to old Indian films and other pop culture references. Shiv refers to the twitter message that was the pretext for arresting Zubair this week. The message he wrote in 2018 was a reference to an old Bollywood movie. Jeevika Shiv does not belong to a religious minority. Still, she does not want to be portrayed in this article, for fear of being bothered by online trolls on social media. – Modi never conducts interviews. He wants to direct the media and the media reality, says Nielsen. Photo: Aijaz Rahi / AP Modi’s media direction The major news media in India are largely government – friendly, says Kenneth Bo Nielsen at the University of Oslo. After Modi came to power, it has been even more difficult for critical voices to escape. – The newspapers are dependent on advertising revenue from the government, while several of the popular TV channels are owned companies that support Modi’s economic policy. The Prime Minister himself never answers critical questions, he only speaks from the rostrum and never accepts questions. – Modi never shows up for interviews. He wants to direct the media and the media reality, says Nielsen.
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