The German foreign ministry is aghast about democratic India’s ongoing detention of journalist Mohammed Zubair and spoke on this.
German foreign ministry on India’s ongoing detention of journalist Mohammed Zubair and had said.”Free reporting is beneficial to any society and restrictions are a cause for concern. Journalists should not be persecuted and imprisoned for what they say and write. We are indeed aware of this specific case and our embassy in New Delhi is monitoring it very closely,”
He said the European Union had an ongoing human rights dialogue with India and “the freedom of expression and freedom of the press” are a focus of those discussions.
“India describes itself as the world’s largest democracy. So one can expect democratic values like freedom of expression and of the press to be given the necessary space there”
MINI THREAD
German foreign ministry on India's ongoing detention of journalist Mohammed Zubair"India describes itself as the world’s largest democracy. So one can expect democratic values like freedom of expression and of the press to be given the necessary space there"
/1 pic.twitter.com/g26gSSKEO7— Richard Walker (@rbsw) July 6, 2022
Richard Walker Chief International Editor at DW, Germany’s global broadcaster shared a thread:
German foreign ministry on the detention of Mohammed Zubair:
– Germany aware of this case
– Embassy is “monitoring very closely”
– In contact with EU partners on the matter
– Importance of press freedom “also applies to India”
I asked the spokesman why Germany seemed reluctant to criticize the authorities on this specific case, beyond making points of principle.
“I would not say that I was not precise in my criticism,” he said.
Much more on the media in India – and strains in Delhi-Berlin relations – in Part 3 of DW special "India's Dilemma"https://t.co/wRl5tx3SGP
— Richard Walker (@rbsw) July 7, 2022
Reacting nattily to the German foreign ministry’s comments on fact-checker Mohammed Zubair’s arrest, the Indian government today called it “an internal issue” and said it was needless to comment on a case that is before the court.
“This is our internal matter. The matter is before the court. Our legal system is independent. Any comment on it is unhelpful. It’s not right,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.
Why is the world upset with the arrest of Mohammed Zubair? The main reason is India comes under the banner of democracy and democratic nations share special partnerships of trust with each other. These unlawful arrests are crushing the freedom of expression and Germany and other nations are worried.