International Federation Of Journalists Condemns Spate Of Journalist Killings In India

International Federation of Journalists Condemns Spate of Journalist Killings in India

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has strongly condemned a spate of journalist killings in India, after three reporters were murdered over recent weeks, according to a press release on Tuesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th July, 2020) The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has strongly condemned a spate of journalist killings in India, after three reporters were murdered over recent weeks, according to a press release on Tuesday.

Sunil Tiwari, a freelancer who contributed to the Nai Duniya newspaper, was attacked outside his home in the state of Madhya Pradesh on July 22 and died from his injuries, according to the federation. Two other journalists, Vikram Joshi and Shubham Mani, were also murdered in the state of Uttar Pradesh over the past month, the IFJ said.

"The IFJ strongly condemns the organised killing of the journalists. We extend our condolences to his family member, his colleagues and his community. There must be an impartial and independent investigation and the guilty must be held to account," the federation's general secretary Anthony Bellanger said in a press release.

The attacks were also condemned by the IFJ's Indian affiliate, the National Union of Journalists-India (NUJ-I), which called on the government to take action to find the perpetrators of the crimes.

"NUJ-I calls on the government of India to take formal and informal complaints by the journalists more seriously. We call on impartial investigation in the killings of the journalist Sunil Tiwari and other journalists killed in India," the union's president Ras Bihari said in the press release.

Tiwari uploaded a video to his Facebook page in May claiming that he had received death threats for exposing the illegal activities of three individuals. According to Indian media reports, criminal proceedings have begun against seven people linked to his death.