KUWJ condemns raid on NewsClick, calls it violation of democratic rights

A Kerala-based journalists union Tuesday condemned the Delhi Police raids on news portal NewsClick and its journalists during the day, calling it an encroachment on the freedom of media and "a blatant violation of democratic rights".

The Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) said the "illegal and anti-democratic" raids were carried out without revealing the reason for the same and the police seized mobile phones, laptops and other electronic equipment from the scribes.

The Delhi Police on Tuesday arrested two persons including NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha in connection with a probe into the portal's foreign funding.

The arrest came after the Delhi Police searched 30 locations connected with the online news portal and its journalists in a case filed under the anti-terror law UAPA following allegations that it received money for pro-China propaganda.

"The Kerala Union of Working Journalists strongly condemns the illegal police raids conducted at the residences of prominent journalists at the national level and taking many senior journalists into custody, on Tuesday.

"This can only be viewed as part of an attempt by the authorities to arm-twist and intimidate the journalists into refraining from pursuing news," it said in a release.

KUWJ state president M Vineetha and general secretary R Kiran Babu said such acts of the police "amount to encroachment on the freedom of media and a blatant violation of democratic rights".

They demanded that the Union government take stringent legal action against those who ordered the raids.