New Delhi: The number of journalists jailed for doing their job has touched a record high this year, seeing a jump of 20 percent as compared to last year with a tally of 323, according to the annual prison census by the Committee to Protect Journalists. India continues to remain at a record high for the second consecutive year, with seven journalists behind bars, including six charged under the stringent UAPA, it said.
According to CPJ, in India the seven journalists imprisoned are Aasif Sultan, Siddique Kappan, Gautam Navlakha, Manan Dar, Sajad Gul, Fahad Shah and Rupesh Kumar Singh. Three of them have been in jail for more than a year. It said that the country continues to draw criticism over its treatment of the media, in particular for the use of the preventive detention law, the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act. This has been used to keep Kashmiri journalists Aasif Sultan, Fahad Shah and Sajad Gul in jail “after they were granted court-ordered bail in separate cases”, the non-profit organisation said.
7 journalists jailed in India: CPJ
