Mohammed Zubair: Top Indian fact-checker in court for post calling out hate speech

A few days later, hundreds of Narsinghanand’s supporters surrounded the local police station, demanding action against Zubair. Police opened a case against the fact-checker after Uditya Tyagi – a politician from India’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and a close aide of the priest – lodged a complaint.

In the initial complaint, Zubair faced somewhat milder charges – including promoting enmity between different religious groups, defamation and giving false evidence. But last week, police added Section 152 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita – as India’s new legal code is called – to the list of charges, accusing him of “endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India”.

This, legal experts say, allows police to arrest Zubair. His lawyer has sought interim bail and also asked the court to throw out the case.

In his defence, Zubair says he was not the only one who had posted Narsinghanand’s remarks and that a number of journalists, politicians and media channels had tweeted the video even before him.

“Police have registered a case against me based on complaints from the followers of a man who routinely gives hate speeches. And they are going after someone who’s reporting hate speeches, while people giving hate speeches are going free,” he says.

“This is an attempt to gag people trying to hold the government to account,” he adds.

Pratik Sinha, Zubair’s colleague and the other co-founder of AltNews, says the authorities go after Zubair because of the work he does and because it makes an impact.

“It’s a classic case of shooting the messenger. It’s a witch-hunt,” he told the BBC.

“Why are the police invoking more stringent charges against him nearly two months later? It’s not just Narsinghanand and his supporters going after him – this is actually the government going after him.”

The addition of the draconian charge against Zubair has also been criticised by rights organisations and groups representing journalists and media in India who say that Section 152 is a “new version” of the colonial-era sedition law.

Amnesty International India, external said it was an example of how the law was being used “to harass, intimidate, and persecute human rights defenders, activists, journalists, students, filmmakers, singers, actors and writers for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression”.

The Press Club of India condemned, external the move and demanded withdrawal of the police case against Zubair.

“All sane minds have been opposing this section as it has potential to silence the free thinkers and media. It can also be imposed against those who are critical of dispensation,” it said in a statement.

Digipub, an association of digital media organisations, condemned the “escalating harassment” of Zubair and described the allegations against him as “unfounded”.

“This is a vindictive and unreasonable over-reach, external by agencies of the state,” it said.