Media Freedom in US and India: The Case of Arnab Goswami
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Sukla Sen
Nov 7, 2020, 3:49:41 AM11/7/20
to foil-l, Say NO 2 UID Core Group
[Let alone arrests and long incarcerations, journos are often attacked, while on the job, by (right-wing) vigilante groups.
(At least 8 journalists were arrested by various state governments (mostly) led by BJP, or in which it's a constituent over the last two years only, and except one all are during the current year.)
This is, perhaps, for the first time, a vicious right-winger propagandist is arrested - that too, on a charge unrelated to "journalism" as such.
That's why the ballyhoo.
Not for nothing India, now, ranks pretty low in the World Press Freedom Index - 142nd out of 180, which is routinely pooh-poohed by those who're shrieking now.
About time to place the larger issue on the table, right in front.
Goswami's bail application, right now, is being heard by the Bombay High Court: <https://www.barandbench.com/news/litigation/bombay-high-court-challenge-arnab-goswami-arrest-live-updates-november-7>.
<<Goswami was arrested in a case of alleged abetment to suicide from 2018. It relates to the death of an architect, Anvay Naik, and his mother because Republic TV allegedly failed to pay its dues. Naik’s suicide note explicitly mentions Goswami. However, the Maharashtra police closed the case in 2019 – only to reopen it now on, what they claim, is the direction of a court.
While the case has nothing to do directly with Goswami’s journalism, given India’s murky political environment, it is not impossible that both the police actions in 2019 as well as on Wednesday was driven by partisan considerations.
...
Goswami’s arrest – even if politically motivated – is not plumbing a new depth. Partisan action against journalists is a regular part of Indian politics and much precedes November 4, 2020. In fact, many instances of partisan action have been prompted by the ruling BJP – even as they protested Goswami’s arrest on Wednesday.
Currently, for example, Siddique Kappan, a reporter from Kerala, is in prison in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh. He was arrested on October 6 while on his way to cover the gangrape and murder of a teenage Dalit girl and charged with India’s draconion Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act as well as sedition.
...
On October 28, the Modi government raided the offices of the Greater Kashmir newspaper as well as AFP’s Kashmir correspondent Parvaiz Bukhari based on allegations of funding secessionist groups.
Prashant Kanojia, an independent journalist has been arrested twice in the past year for sedition by Uttar Pradesh. What the Adityanath government found “seditious” were tweets published by the journalists on his Twitter handle.
In May, India’s colonial sedition law was used by another BJP-ruled state – by Gujarat to book a journalist Dhaval Patel for publishing a report about the chief minister’s health.
Unsurprisingly, India is currently ranked 142nd in the World Press Freedom Index out of 180 countries.>>
(Excerpted from Sl. No. VII. below.]]
I.
धरी रह गई दादागीरी, हवा हो गई नेतागीरी । Navin Kumar
06-Nov-2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ykv5SerbiGE&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1DH50kfyzZqZUSaKfc-ajrCSqttZp19_ejg18mP4uSOwC2Fhh6Ab3kZf4
II.
TV Anchor Arnab Goswami To Be In Jail For Now, No Relief Yet
November 07, 2020
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/tv-anchor-arnab-goswami-to-be-in-jail-for-now-no-relief-yet-2321787?fbclid=IwAR07_QGXUAOMVoQ2gdzbPJmwv9d1Z9oXWQduF5fWc-Avym_adgEvvSs5pwE
III.
“I am Arnab, I will show you what I can do”: Adnya Naik on threats faced by her father
November 05 2020
https://caravanmagazine.in/crime/anvay-naik-daughter-interview-on-being-threatened-arnab-republic-case?fbclid=IwAR3GPct1wiY3pjTeZHyqfPYBJNhD6v3x_vUrML9M7dbJ09toqHJ4GGu5aL0
IV.
Emergency? Here Are 9 Cases Where BJP Leaders Didn't Jump to Arrested Journalists' Defence
November 04 2020
https://thewire.in/media/journalist-arrest-arnab-goswami-bjp-defence
V.
Ranjona Banerji: What about journalists punished for doing their job?
November 06 2020
https://www.mxmindia.com/2020/11/ranjona-banerji-what-about-journalists-punished-for-doing-their-job/?fbclid=IwAR38vY_KUM7V5dFM5I9BW6IfcF_ReFbX5EVyZjwbLvuwniEmYSfQA3EjGhE
VI.
Watch: Video of how the police detained Arnab Goswami from his home surfaces on Twitter
Nov 04 2020
https://scroll.in/video/977663/candid-camera-video-of-how-arnab-goswami-was-detained-from-inside-his-home-surfaces-on-twitter?fbclid=IwAR1tfYB6beVhkwAe21KSc4lGZRUA5kI45g7dUjffTj3L-jhr-bGHS2ZiODM
VII.
Arnab Goswami arrest does not set India down a slippery slope – it’s been sliding down one for years
November 4 2020
https://scroll.in/article/977685/arnab-goswami-arrest-does-not-set-india-down-a-slippery-slope-its-been-sliding-down-one-for-years?fbclid=IwAR16ckUj6WM-hAJRw7lY34GrtwgmuFqHa9OA0aEvPFE48UM_evErmLTxXG0
VIII.
Arnab Goswami detained: Union Ministers slam police action, draw parallels with Emergency
November 04 2020
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/union-ministers-emergency-arnab-goswami-6937761/
IX.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10158387539280546&id=653125545
Shuddhabrata Sengupta
Should Arnab Goswami get bail?
Of course he should. Every accused has the right to ask for and be granted bail. I am sure that his lawyers will be moving a bail application soon. And I hope it will be given a proper hearing.
But in any bail hearing, the judge has to examine two things -
1. whether or not there is ‘flight risk’ (and this is why passports are impounded and the accused has to sometimes report regularly to a police station)
2. whether the accused is in a position to adversely influence the investigation and harass witnesses, and if so, what conditions must be imposed on the accused so that this cannot happen.
If Arnab Goswami is granted bail, he will have to furnish a bail bond, which I am sure he can, and deposit his passport with the court. That is normal procedure.
But Arnab Goswami is a powerful man, with a powerful weapon at his disposal - his channel. This can be used to influence perception and affect a fair trial and to harass and intimidate witnesses. We have seen how he has done exactly that with Rhea Chakravarty in the Sushant Singh Rajput case. As of now, Republic TV has not refrained from casting aspersions on the motives of Akshata and Adnya Naik, the widow and daughter of Anvay Naik, for their efforts to re-open the case. If unchecked, these are likely to increase.
So, if Arnab Goswami is to be granted bail, in all fairness, the conditions of his being granted bail should include that - for the period of the investigation and trial of this case he refrain from making any statement in his defence on his channel and making any adverse comments on the prosecution and the witnesses in the trial on any programme. And basically, that he neither anchor, nor participate in, any programme on the case broadcast on Republic TV, Republic Bharat or any other channel or media platform.
These conditions are not, and must not be seen as, restrictions on the freedom of the press. They are safeguards against attempts to influence a fair legal process by a powerful man.
If Arnab Goswami agrees to abide by these conditions he should be granted bail. If he does not, he should remain in custody.
-- (At least 8 journalists were arrested by various state governments (mostly) led by BJP, or in which it's a constituent over the last two years only, and except one all are during the current year.)
This is, perhaps, for the first time, a vicious right-winger propagandist is arrested - that too, on a charge unrelated to "journalism" as such.
That's why the ballyhoo.
Not for nothing India, now, ranks pretty low in the World Press Freedom Index - 142nd out of 180, which is routinely pooh-poohed by those who're shrieking now.
About time to place the larger issue on the table, right in front.
Goswami's bail application, right now, is being heard by the Bombay High Court: <https://www.barandbench.com/news/litigation/bombay-high-court-challenge-arnab-goswami-arrest-live-updates-november-7>.
<<Goswami was arrested in a case of alleged abetment to suicide from 2018. It relates to the death of an architect, Anvay Naik, and his mother because Republic TV allegedly failed to pay its dues. Naik’s suicide note explicitly mentions Goswami. However, the Maharashtra police closed the case in 2019 – only to reopen it now on, what they claim, is the direction of a court.
While the case has nothing to do directly with Goswami’s journalism, given India’s murky political environment, it is not impossible that both the police actions in 2019 as well as on Wednesday was driven by partisan considerations.
...
Goswami’s arrest – even if politically motivated – is not plumbing a new depth. Partisan action against journalists is a regular part of Indian politics and much precedes November 4, 2020. In fact, many instances of partisan action have been prompted by the ruling BJP – even as they protested Goswami’s arrest on Wednesday.
Currently, for example, Siddique Kappan, a reporter from Kerala, is in prison in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh. He was arrested on October 6 while on his way to cover the gangrape and murder of a teenage Dalit girl and charged with India’s draconion Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act as well as sedition.
...
On October 28, the Modi government raided the offices of the Greater Kashmir newspaper as well as AFP’s Kashmir correspondent Parvaiz Bukhari based on allegations of funding secessionist groups.
Prashant Kanojia, an independent journalist has been arrested twice in the past year for sedition by Uttar Pradesh. What the Adityanath government found “seditious” were tweets published by the journalists on his Twitter handle.
In May, India’s colonial sedition law was used by another BJP-ruled state – by Gujarat to book a journalist Dhaval Patel for publishing a report about the chief minister’s health.
Unsurprisingly, India is currently ranked 142nd in the World Press Freedom Index out of 180 countries.>>
(Excerpted from Sl. No. VII. below.]]
I.
धरी रह गई दादागीरी, हवा हो गई नेतागीरी । Navin Kumar
06-Nov-2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ykv5SerbiGE&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1DH50kfyzZqZUSaKfc-ajrCSqttZp19_ejg18mP4uSOwC2Fhh6Ab3kZf4
II.
TV Anchor Arnab Goswami To Be In Jail For Now, No Relief Yet
November 07, 2020
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/tv-anchor-arnab-goswami-to-be-in-jail-for-now-no-relief-yet-2321787?fbclid=IwAR07_QGXUAOMVoQ2gdzbPJmwv9d1Z9oXWQduF5fWc-Avym_adgEvvSs5pwE
III.
“I am Arnab, I will show you what I can do”: Adnya Naik on threats faced by her father
November 05 2020
https://caravanmagazine.in/crime/anvay-naik-daughter-interview-on-being-threatened-arnab-republic-case?fbclid=IwAR3GPct1wiY3pjTeZHyqfPYBJNhD6v3x_vUrML9M7dbJ09toqHJ4GGu5aL0
IV.
Emergency? Here Are 9 Cases Where BJP Leaders Didn't Jump to Arrested Journalists' Defence
November 04 2020
https://thewire.in/media/journalist-arrest-arnab-goswami-bjp-defence
V.
Ranjona Banerji: What about journalists punished for doing their job?
November 06 2020
https://www.mxmindia.com/2020/11/ranjona-banerji-what-about-journalists-punished-for-doing-their-job/?fbclid=IwAR38vY_KUM7V5dFM5I9BW6IfcF_ReFbX5EVyZjwbLvuwniEmYSfQA3EjGhE
VI.
Watch: Video of how the police detained Arnab Goswami from his home surfaces on Twitter
Nov 04 2020
https://scroll.in/video/977663/candid-camera-video-of-how-arnab-goswami-was-detained-from-inside-his-home-surfaces-on-twitter?fbclid=IwAR1tfYB6beVhkwAe21KSc4lGZRUA5kI45g7dUjffTj3L-jhr-bGHS2ZiODM
VII.
Arnab Goswami arrest does not set India down a slippery slope – it’s been sliding down one for years
November 4 2020
https://scroll.in/article/977685/arnab-goswami-arrest-does-not-set-india-down-a-slippery-slope-its-been-sliding-down-one-for-years?fbclid=IwAR16ckUj6WM-hAJRw7lY34GrtwgmuFqHa9OA0aEvPFE48UM_evErmLTxXG0
VIII.
Arnab Goswami detained: Union Ministers slam police action, draw parallels with Emergency
November 04 2020
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/union-ministers-emergency-arnab-goswami-6937761/
IX.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10158387539280546&id=653125545
Shuddhabrata Sengupta
Should Arnab Goswami get bail?
Of course he should. Every accused has the right to ask for and be granted bail. I am sure that his lawyers will be moving a bail application soon. And I hope it will be given a proper hearing.
But in any bail hearing, the judge has to examine two things -
1. whether or not there is ‘flight risk’ (and this is why passports are impounded and the accused has to sometimes report regularly to a police station)
2. whether the accused is in a position to adversely influence the investigation and harass witnesses, and if so, what conditions must be imposed on the accused so that this cannot happen.
If Arnab Goswami is granted bail, he will have to furnish a bail bond, which I am sure he can, and deposit his passport with the court. That is normal procedure.
But Arnab Goswami is a powerful man, with a powerful weapon at his disposal - his channel. This can be used to influence perception and affect a fair trial and to harass and intimidate witnesses. We have seen how he has done exactly that with Rhea Chakravarty in the Sushant Singh Rajput case. As of now, Republic TV has not refrained from casting aspersions on the motives of Akshata and Adnya Naik, the widow and daughter of Anvay Naik, for their efforts to re-open the case. If unchecked, these are likely to increase.
So, if Arnab Goswami is to be granted bail, in all fairness, the conditions of his being granted bail should include that - for the period of the investigation and trial of this case he refrain from making any statement in his defence on his channel and making any adverse comments on the prosecution and the witnesses in the trial on any programme. And basically, that he neither anchor, nor participate in, any programme on the case broadcast on Republic TV, Republic Bharat or any other channel or media platform.
These conditions are not, and must not be seen as, restrictions on the freedom of the press. They are safeguards against attempts to influence a fair legal process by a powerful man.
If Arnab Goswami agrees to abide by these conditions he should be granted bail. If he does not, he should remain in custody.
Peace Is Doable
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