WASHINGTON, June 14 (Reuters) - The Committee to Protect Journalists on Wednesday called on the U.S. government to urge India to end a media crackdown and release six detained journalists.
A statement from CPJ President Jodie Ginsberg ahead of a state visit to Washington next week by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said there had been an increasing crackdown on India’s media since he came to power in 2014.
"Journalists critical of the government and the BJP party have been jailed, harassed, and surveilled in retaliation for their work," Ginsberg said.
It highlighted harassment of domestic and foreign media, including through raids and retaliatory income tax investigations launched into critical news outlets.
The CPJ also cited a media crackdown in Kashmir, including the use of preventative detention, terrorism and criminal cases, travel bans and raids.
Persons:
Jodie Ginsberg, Narendra Modi, Ginsberg, – Aasif Sultan, Gautam Navlakha, Sajad Gul, Fahad Shah, Rupesh Kumar Singh, Irfan Mehraj –, Modi, CPJ, David Brunnstrom, Alistair Bell
Organizations:
Protect Journalists, Indian, BJP, U.S . State Department, Thomson
Locations:
India, Washington, United States, Delhi, Mumbai, Indian, Jammu, Kashmir