Editors Guild slams Kerala govt after case filed against woman journalist

The Editors Guild has come up with a strong statement condemning the Kerala government's filing of a First Information Report (FIR) against a female journalist working with a Malayalam news channel. This police action was in response to her coverage of a protest that escalated into violence, culminating in an incident where a shoe was thrown at the Chief Minister's vehicle.

“To cover protests is a media responsibility and is no crime. A reporter’s presence at a protest site does not make him or her complicit in any untoward incident that may have occurred,” read the statement.

“The Editors Guild urged the government of Kerala to desist from punishing the reporter for discharging her professional duty,” the guild said in a media release.

Protest by Kerala Students Union activists

VG Vineetha, a reporter of 24 News, a Malayalam news channel, was booked by the Kerala Police after a shoe was hurled at the bus in which the Chief Minister, along with his cabinet, was travelling as part of their state-wide Nava Kerala yatra in Ernakulam district on December 10.

Along with the Kerala Students Union activists who allegedly jumped in front of the Chief Minister’s vehicle and threw the shoe at it, Vineetha was also named in the charge sheet for taking part in the alleged conspiracy of the shoe attack.

According to the police, they possess electronic evidence indicating that Vineetha was in constant communication with the protesting students and participated in conference calls with them, suggesting her involvement in a conspiracy.

Journalists and journalist unions have already voiced their concerns regarding police excesses in this case, particularly the imposition of serious criminal charges against journalists simply for carrying out their duties.

‘Direct assault on the right to work’

“This constitutes a direct assault on the right to work, especially targeting a woman. The official who imposed these severe charges against Vineetha should face suspension and a thorough investigation,” said R Sreekantan Nair, Chief Editor of 24 News.

Nair questioned how throwing a shoe at an armoured vehicle like the Nava Kerala bus could be deemed attempted murder. He asserted that they would collectively support Vineetha in her legal battle, and if necessary, the entire team would stand by her in facing potential incarceration.

The editor also warned that if assigned journalists were prevented from carrying out their duties, they might have no choice but to close down the channel.

Infringement on press freedom: KUWJ

The Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) has expressed its strong protest to the police's decision to file a case against a journalist who covered the incident of a shoe being thrown at a Nava Kerala bus. Calling the move an infringement on press freedom, the KUWJ has called on the Kerala Police to retract the case filed against the journalist.

“Journalists are entitled to the privileges necessary for carrying out their jobs. In this case, a female journalist has been summoned after facing conspiracy and attempted murder charges, which represents a reversal of the usual procedure - imposing charges first and investigating later. While journalism inherently involves occupational hazards, criminal cases should not be one of them. In a democratic system, particularly under a democratic government, this is unfair. It appears to be an instance of police overreach and unwavering government support for such actions. The Left government bears the responsibility of safeguarding the working environment for journalists in the state,” wrote KJ Jacob, the Executive Editor of Deccan Chronicle, on his Facebook page.

CM Vijayan alleges conspirators in media

On the other hand, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who justified the police action, said that there were conspirators in the media fraternity.

“Some of you (journalists) are capable of conspiring. There are conspirators in the media fraternity. Such activities will be dealt with according to the law. I don’t have any reason to doubt the FIR. The police register cases based on evidence. If you think it’s not true, come up with evidence, you can argue it in the court,” the Chief Minister said.

There is another incident in which journalists from Janmabhoomi newspaper and Janam TV - both official mouthpieces of the BJP and RSS - were summoned for questioning in a case related to Mahila Morcha activists breaking and entering the state DGP’s official house protesting the acquittal of a rape accused in a POCSO case by a special court in Idukki district.

Earlier, Akhila Nandakumar, a chief reporter with Asianet News in Ernakulam, had been booked along with four others, KSU workers, in a complaint filed by SFI (Students Federation of India) state secretary PM Arsho.The charges were withdrawn at a later stage of the investigation. The crime branch that investigated the case informed the magistrate’s court in Ernakulam that it couldn’t find any evidence against the reporter who was named as the fifth accused in the FIR.

Strained relations between media and LDF govt

The rapport between Malayalam media and the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF government appears strained. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has not been a favourite of the media, even when he was the party president. 

Cyber activists, with seemingly tacit support from the party, have been waging a war against what they call the “sold-out right-wing media”, and it tends to cross all the lines at times leaving the leadership defenceless, especially when female journalists are targeted. Interestingly, the party's own mouthpiece, Deshabhimani, faced scrutiny when it wrongly portrayed an elderly Congress activist, Mariakkutty, who was protesting against the government due to the non-disbursement of welfare pensions. The newspaper had to issue an apology the following day for the inaccurate portrayal in its news story.