'Journalists Should Not Be Jailed For What They Tweet,' Says UN Spokesperson On Mohammed Zubair

Bobins Abraham
Bobins Abraham
Updated on Jun 29, 2022, 14:51 IST- 3 min read -1.3 K Shares
Indiatimes

Reacting to the arrest of journalist and fact-checker Mohammed Zubair of Alt-News by the Delhi Police on a complaint by a now-deleted anonymous Twitter account, a spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that journalists should not be jailed for what they write, what they tweet.

"I think, first of all, in any place around the world, it is very important that people be allowed to express themselves freely, journalists are allowed to express themselves freely and without the threat of any harassment," Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, said on Tuesday while responding to a question at the daily news briefing.

Mohammed Zubair BCCL

Arrested for a screenshot of a 1983 movie

"Journalists should not be jailed for what they write, what they tweet, and what they say. And that goes for anywhere in the world, including in this room," Dujarric said while responding to another question.

Zubair, the co-founder of fact-checking portal Alt News was arrested by the Delhi Police on Monday over a 2018 tweet, which was a screenshot from Hrishikesh Mukherjee's 1983 classic Kissi Se Na Kehna, cleared by the CBFC.

The FRI against Zubair was registered based on a complaint filed by an anonymous Twitter account @balajikijaiin, which went by the name of Hanuman Bhakt.

Mohammed Zubair Screengrab

That was the only tweet ever made by the account that was created in October 2021.

On Wednesday morning, the Twitter account also vanished.

Mohammed Zubair Screengrab

Who is Mohammed Zubair?

Zubair, who started his social media activity as a parody account of BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, has recently been in the limelight over his coverage of hate speech in India.

He was the first to report the offensive comments made by Hindutva leaders at a conclave in Haridwar in December last year.

Mohammed Zubair Twitter

In April, Zubair tweeted videos of Bajrang Muni Das of Maharishi Shri Laxman Das Udasi Ashram, showing him making a hate speech and issuing a "rape threat" in UP's Sitapur.

This led to his arrest by the Uttar Pradesh Police.

His tweet about the then BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma making offensive comments against Prophet Muhammed resulted in an international backlash, forcing the party to suspend her.

The Indian government had even termed her a "fringe element."

Delhi police reject political motive

Following Zubair's arrest, the Delhi Police said it was not politically motivated.

"It is not right to call this case politically motivated. He had been evasive during the questioning, which formed the ground of his arrest," Deputy Commissioner of Police (IFSO, Special Cell), KPS Malhotra said.

Mohammed Zubair BCCL

The DCP said that it does not matter whether the tweet was posted recently or four years back.

"We took action when a social media user raised the issue with us," Malhotra said, adding that even endorsing a view on social media becomes the view of that person who has endorsed it.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He writes on Environment, Sustainability, Human-Animal conflict and South India.