Pinarayi Vijayan, Press freedom should also be there for us, not only for NewsClick

Yesterday I was questioned by officers of Vadakara police station regarding the news report, my political and other backgrounds. Deputy Editor of Maktoob, Shaheen’s statement was also taken. My only phone along with my SIM card was seized. Still I don’t know why the case was registered by Vadakara police of Kozhikode district when the news reporting was done from Ernakulam. All I know is that instructions were given from the top and there are chances of slapping non-bailable charges depending on the course of investigation.

I remember addressing a crowd in Malappuram district and saying, “For speaking for people, One day they will come looking for you and me”. That day was November 16 after the case was registered on October 31, 2023. While interviewing Sidheeq Kappan, jailed Jharkhand based independent journalist, Rupesh Kumar Singh’s wife, Ipsa, and a Kashmiri journalist, I wrote that whoever writes for people is portrayed in bad light. Now I have first-hand experience but it didn’t surprise me because of the myth, Kerala is No 1.

The support for me should not be personal, it should be only political. “Why the case was registered, what was the news report about, what the facts are, whose government registered the case, and which section of IPC was used”. These questions should be raised politically.
Regarding the news report and the injustice mentioned in it, fact-finding investigations by veteran journalists, political parties and human rights organizations can be done to check the authenticity of my news report.

Pinarayi Vijayan, Press freedom should also be there for us, not only for NewsClick.
Journalism is not PR work for the government and its agencies! Justice delayed is justice denied! Quash fabricated cases against journalists!
_ Rejaz M Sheeba Sydeek

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