The Kerala Police should desist from asking a journalist who reported on the alleged sale of usernames and passwords of candidates who had registered themselves with Kerala Public Services Commission on the dark web to produce his mobile phones before investigation officers, demanded the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ).
The move to investigate media outlets for the news they publish and seize mobile phones of journalists is an onslaught on media freedom. Such moves are part of efforts to rein in media freedom, said a joint statement issued by KUWJ State president K.P. Reji and general secretary Suresh Edappal.
The union had taken up the issue with the Chief Minister recently. It’s a media practice to release documents related to sensational news in the public domain and all democratic governments have stood by the practice. The attempts to curb media freedom through such police acts are deplorable, the statement said.
Published – December 22, 2024 06:48 pm IST