Friday, March 29, 2024

Press freedom: One Free Press Coalition puts Siddique Kappan in ’10 most urgent’ list

Poster to release jailed Malayalam journalist Siddique Kappan. Photo: Shaheen Abdulla/Maktoob

Jailed Indian journalist, Siddique Kappan, is named in the ’10 most urgent’ list of press freedom abuses around the globe published by One Free Press Coalition. Kappan is included in the 24th monthly “10 most urgent” list released on Monday.

Kappan, a Delhi-based Malayalm Journalist, stands 5th among the many journalists facing press freedom abuses. Mohammad Mosaed of Iran is on the top of the list who was detained by the Turkish Border Police.

“10 Most Urgent” list published in The Washington Post

Since October 5, Siddique Kappan has been held in pretrial detainment with no proper charges documented against him. Police at a toll plaza in Uttar Pradesh arrested him along with three other Muslim youths -two student leaders and a cab driver- with whom he was travelling from New Delhi to cover a rape and murder of a Dalit woman by upper caste Hindu men that had sparked the country into huge protests.

Kappan is booked under India’s stringent terror law, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act – UAPA for conspiring against the state.

One Press coalition states that, nations in which the number of imprisoned writers rose enormously in 2020 incorporate Belarus, where mass fights have resulted over the disputed re-election of the long-time president, and Ethiopia, where political agitation has deteriorated into outfitted clash.

There are also concerns about Kappan’s health in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, with associates and family saying that the prison has not executed adequate security measures against the infection.

Recently Kappan’s advocate has petitioned for an interim bail to fulfil his mother’s last wish; to meet him.

Kaisrye Saif (Uganda), Gulmir Imin ( China), Ahmed Ismail Hasan (Baharain), Kilwe Adan ( Somalia), Nada Sabouri ( Iran) are also some of the journalists listed as the journalists facing injustice behind the bars.

The One Free Press Coalition is a united front of leading press organizations using the significant reach of their editorial and social platforms to give a voice for journalists who are under attack globally. The mission of the organization is to use the collective voices of its members – which reach more than 1 billion people worldwide – to stand up for journalists under attack for pursuing the truth.

The One Press Coalition’s cases of injustice against journalists is published in the Washington Post every month.

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