New Delhi: The Editors Guild of India Monday condemned the action taken by police on journalists covering the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in different parts of the country last week.
In a statement released against the “various acts of violence and brutality committed by police forces”, against mediapersons in different parts of the country, particularly in Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh, the Guild said the journalists were covering the protests “as part of their Constitutionally guaranteed duties of gathering information and disseminating it among the people through their respective media platforms”.
“Using force or physical violence against journalists on duty throttles the very voice of democracy and media freedom,” said the statement.
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The Guild also urged the Ministry of Home Affairs to “direct police forces in different states to offer adequate protection to journalists” instead of targeting them for the attacks.
“The need of the hour is to ensure proper and responsible coverage, a goal that cannot be achieved by such acts of violence and brutality against journalists on duty,” it added.
Attack on journalists
On Friday, eight reporters from Kerala were arrested in Mangaluru, only to be released seven hours later after the intervention of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
On the same day, Omar Rashid, a journalist from The Hindu, was detained and allegedly harassed by police in Uttar Pradesh. Delhi Police, too, allegedly attacked a journalist and cameraman from Mathrubhumi News.
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