Media Release: India
January 15, 2013
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is
extremely concerned to learn of the criminal charges filed against
investigative reporter K.K. Shahina by police in the southern Indian state of
Karnataka.
Shahina, who currently works with the weekly magazine Open, faces charges under various sections of the Indian Penal Code,
including criminal conspiracy and intimidation of witnesses with intent to
commit a crime. The chargesheet filed in the sessions court in the district of
Kodagu in Karnataka state, also indicts her under sections of the Unlawful
Activities (Prevention) Act, which is most commonly invoked to deal with
terrorist offences.
These charges stem from a story published under Shahina’s byline in the weekly magazine Tehelka in December 2010, which appeared to cast doubt on the prosecution of a
prominent Islamic cleric and political figure on terrorism charges.
Shahina who then worked as correspondent for Tehelka in the state of Kerala, based
her story on interviews with key witnesses in the case against Abdul Nasar
Mahdani, an Islamic cleric who heads the Peoples’ Democratic Party, active
mainly in the state of Kerala. Mahdani has since been arrested and charged by
Karnataka police for conspiracy to detonate a series of low-intensity bomb
blasts in the state capital city of Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore) in July
2008.
Shahina’s story cited several of the witnesses named
by the Karnataka police as saying that their testimony has been misinterpreted
or distorted in making out the charges against Mahdani.
In March 2011, Shahina was honoured with the Chameli
Devi Jain award for outstanding woman media person. The awards citation
mentioned her investigative work in defence of civil liberties, among other
contributions.
Facing the possibility of arrest since January 2011,
Shahina approached the district court in Kodagu for anticipatory bail, but was
turned down. It was only in July 2011 that the Karnataka High Court granted her
provisional immunity from arrest. With charges now formally registered in the
sessions court, she will be required to appeal for renewal of her bail and also
travel from her base of Kochi city in Kerala, to Madikeri in Kodagu district
for every hearing.
The IFJ calls on the authorities in Karnataka state to
reconsider their intent to prosecute Shahina, whose work has been an example of
investigative journalism in the cause of civil liberties.
“We see this prosecution as an instance of seeking to
silence fair and independent reporting through legal injunction. We fear that
the process of the law, with the demands it makes on the time and energy of the
defendant, is often punishment in itself and will severely impair this
journalist’s professional effectiveness.”
For further
information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific on +612 9333 0950
The IFJ
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