The co-founder of a fact-checking website who has been a vocal critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has been arrested in India.
According to a network of media outlets, Mohammed Zubair of Alt News has been accused of insulting religious beliefs on Twitter.
The arrest has been condemned by opposition leaders and activists. According to them, it was a clear attempt by the Hindu-nationalist government to crack down on those who expose hate speech.
Mr. Zubair recently highlighted comments made by a spokesperson for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during a television debate that allegedly insulted the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). His tweet was widely shared, prompting several Muslim countries to express strong opposition to India.
In recent weeks, Hindu nationalists have called attention to Mr. Zubair’s previous comments and demanded that he be prosecuted for infringing on their religious feelings.
Mr. Zubair was detained following a complaint from a Twitter account alleging that he insulted Hindus in a 2018 post commenting on the renaming of a hotel after the Hindu monkey god Hanuman, according to the ANI news agency, citing Delhi Police sources.
Senior opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, have condemned the arrest of journalist and Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair on charges of injuring religious sentiments in violation of relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Taking to Twitter, the former Congress president said, “Every person exposing BJP’s hate, bigotry, and lies is a threat to them. Arresting one voice of truth will only give rise to a thousand more.” Gandhi added, “Truth ALWAYS triumphs over tyranny. #DaroMat.”
According to media reports, Zubair has been charged based on “highly provocative” tweets allegedly posted by him, said a police official. He has been booked under sections 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause a riot—if rioting is committed—if not committed) and 295A (outraging religious feelings of any class) of the IPC. The Delhi Police special cell has requested a four-day remand of the journalist.
Taking to Twitter, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi said, “@DelhiPolice does nothing about anti-Muslim genocidal slogans, but acts swiftly against “crime” of reporting hate speech & countering misinformation.”
Speaking along similar lines, Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien tweeted, “Strongly condemn the arrest of one of the world’s finest journalists @zoo_bear who exposes the BJP’s #FakeNews factory every single day. PM @narendramodi and @AmitShah for all the power you wield, you are essentially COWARDS.”
A Rashtriya Janata Dal MP also condemned the arrest, saying, “Making hate speech is not a crime, but reporting/exposing such speeches is, and that’s why @zoo bear was arrested.” And irony dies a thousand deaths. The great LEADER declares #Emergency in the land of #ThirdReich and allows domestic dissent in any form to be killed.”
Zubair was allegedly arrested in a 2020 case for which he already had “protection” from the high court, according to Alt News co-founder Pratik Sinha. According to DCP (Special Cell) KPS Malhotra, the Delhi Police arrested Zubair “after having sufficient evidence on record.”
Zubair was arrested in the Indian capital on charges of infringing on religious sentiments for a tweet he sent in 2018. Zubair, the co-founder of the fact-checking website Alt News, was arrested on Monday evening in New Delhi and remanded in police custody for a day, according to officials and media reports.
Zubair was arrested in response to a complaint made this month by the Twitter handle @balajikijaiin, who claimed the 39-year-old Muslim journalist had insulted Hindus by commenting on the renaming of a hotel after the Hindu monkey god Hanuman.
His arrest came five days after Twitter received a request from the government claiming his account violated Indian laws.
Alt News’s other co-founder, Pratik Sinha, said on Twitter no notice was given to Zubair before his arrest. “He is currently detained inside a police bus in Burari for more than an hour,” Sinha said, referring to a New Delhi neighborhood where Zubair was to be produced before a magistrate authorized the arrest.
In another tweet, Sinha wrote: “After the medical examination, Zubair is being taken to an undisclosed location. Neither Zubair’s lawyers nor I am being told where. We are in the police van with him. No police are wearing any name tag.”
Alt News was founded in 2017 by Zubair, a former telecom engineer from Bengaluru’s southern IT hub, and Sinha, a software engineer from Ahmedabad. Since then, the website has exposed numerous fake news stories, most of which were promoted by Hindu right-wing portals, as well as claims made by members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or its supporters.
For years, Zubair and Sinha have faced online harassment and police investigations as a result of their work.
Suman Nalwa, a spokeswoman for the Delhi Police, confirmed Zubair’s arrest and said the journalist was charged under Sections 153 (inciting riots) and 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to incite religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code.
When asked about Sinha’s claims on Twitter that no prior notice was given or that Zubair was taken to an unknown location, Nalwa responded, “I haven’t seen the tweets and I don’t respond to tweets.”
