Gauri Lankesh murder: Dangerous time to speak truth in India, says Amnesty International

Amnesty International India on Wednesday said it is dangerous to speak truth to authorities in India. Amnesty’s remark came a year later when Gauri Lankesh, a senior journalist was killed outside her house in Bengaluru. Apart from Gauri Lankesh, there are many journalists who have gotten death threats for speaking truth in India.

This is not only an attempt to stifle the media but also it is an attack on the constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression and has a “profound silencing effect” too, says the human rights observer. Gauri Lankesh was known for speaking and writing anti-Hindutva, was killed on September 5 in 2017.  Police have arrested some of the people in the connection with Gauri Lankesh murder, are linked to Hindu right-wing group.

It further added that, “It’s been a year to Gauri Lankesh murder, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) said their investigation is on final stage, they will file a charge sheet in two months, “Gauri Lankesh’s death anniversary is an occasion for us to introspect on how people who expose the truth, including journalists and whistle-blowers, are increasingly under attack in India.”

Aakar Patel of Amnesty India said, “While it is heartening that the investigation into Gauri Lankesh’s murder seems to be progressing, investigations into several other attacks on journalists and whistle-blowers have yielded precious little. It is a dangerous time for anyone who speaks truth to power in India.” 

According to Reporters Without Borders, from January to July 2018, four journalists have been killed in India and at least three more journalists have been attacked. Several other journalists, who have received threats for journalism that is critical of the State. In the last month, two journalists were arrested in a nationwide crackdown on human rights defenders, Amnesty India said in a statement.

“Journalism cannot be suppressed by those refusing to acknowledge the truth,” Patel said, adding, “This occasion is also a good time to call for investigations into all attacks on journalists,” he said.

Amnesty India said Lankesh’s killing is part of a growing pattern of attacks on journalists in the country. Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) ranked India 12th in its 2017 Global Impunity Index, which ranks countries where the murder of journalists are least likely to be prosecuted.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau, between the year 2014 and 2017, as many as 204 attacks against media persons have been registered in India. India’s position among 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index has gone from 136 in 2017 to 138 in 2018, the body said.

It pointed apart from journalists, others who expose corruption and rights violations like whistle-blowers and Right to Information (RTI) activists are also being attacked and killed.  

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