The Delhi Union of Journalists released a statement condemning the arrest of Delhi based Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan under draconian UAPA and demanded his immediate release.
Siddique Kappan and leaders of Campus Front of India (CFI), a student wing of Popular Front of India who were arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police on Monday in Mathura while on their way to Hathras have been booked under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and sedition. Kappan, secretary of Kerala Union of Working Journalists Delhi unit and a senior Delhi-based journalist has been working for several Malayalam media houses.
The Delhi Union of Journalists’ statement is reproduced below.
Attacks on Journalists
DUJ Demands Immediate Release of Arrested Journalists
The Delhi Union of Journalists is alarmed at the arrest of Siddique Kappan, secretary of the Kerala Union of Working Journalists Delhi Unit, at Mathura while on his way to Hathras to cover the fallout of the gangrape.
He is a professional journalist who works for several Malayalam media houses including azhimukham.com and was on an official assignment when he was arrested. We urge his immediate release.
We regret that journalist Prashant Kanojia, who was arrested from Delhi by U.P. police on August 18, 2020 for a tweet, is still in jail. We deplore the tendency to arrest journalists on dubious grounds.
We believe that the arrests of journalists for their views and reportage is a serious infringement of the freedom of the press. We demand the immediate release of all journalists arrested during the lockdown on various pretexts ranging from a tweet to a video report.
