Who is Mohammed Zubair, Indian journalist arrested by Modi gov’t?
Al JazeeraNov 26, 2022
The Facts
Alt News founder and Muslim-Indian journalist, Mohammad Zubair, was released from prison on bail by the nation's Supreme Court on Wed. on all charges filed in Uttar Pradesh for allegations of hate speech.
Muslim journalist Mohammed Zubair, the co-founder of Indian fact-checking site Alt News and vocal critic of India's PM Narendra Modi, was detained Mon. for allegedly violating religious harmony laws with tweets insulting Hindus in 2018.
The Spin
Establishment-critical narrative
The arrest of Mohammed Zubair shows just how hypocritical Narendra Modi's party is. Days after pledging to promote free speech, they arrested a journalist for hurting religious feelings. This behavior doesn't help India's ranking of 150th on the Reporters Without Borders' World Press Freedom Index.
Pro-establishment narrative
The Muslim minority has intentionally leveraged India's modern secularism to attack traditional Hindu laws and regulations. The government must punish those seeking to undermine the rightful Hindu legal and cultural systems of India, and its institutions.
