India termed a comment by United Nations human rights experts that journalist Rana Ayyub is experiencing misogynist attacks and judicial abuse “meritless and unwarranted,” and said such a “factually inaccurate narrative” harms the UN’s fame.
Rana Ayyub is a Washington Post opinion reporter and Indian journalist. She is also the author of the famous book Gujarat Files: Anatomy of a Cover-Up.
What’s the Controversy?
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached funds worth 1.77 crore from Rana Ayyub’s bank accounts on February 10, asserting that funds raised by her for humanitarian missions through an online crowd-funding platform have been embezzled and used for personal purchases.
Ayyub was the subject of an investigation in September 2021, regarding the filing of a first information report (FIR) by Ghaziabad police, in which the complainant – Vikas Sankrityayan – accused her of illegally obtaining public funds.
Rana Ayyub issued a statement on February 11 in which he denied all allegations of misappropriation of funds obtained as contributions and shared details about how the money was raised on the crowd-funding platform Ketto and spent afterwards.
What does the UN has to say regarding this Issue ?
According to the UN human rights experts, Rana Ayyub “continues to be the victim of intensifying attacks and threats online” by far-right nationalist groups. They claimed the attacks were motivated by her “reporting on issues affecting minority Muslims in the country, her criticism of the government for its handling of the pandemic, and her comments on the recent ban on hijabs in Karnataka schools and colleges.”
They claimed she was “maliciously targeted by organised groups online with anonymous death and rape threats.” The government’s lack of condemnation and proper investigation, combined with the legal harassment, they claimed, “served to falsely legitimize the attacks and attackers and further endangered her safety.”
India’s Response
“Allegations of so-called judicial harassment are baseless & unwarranted. India upholds the rule of law, but is equally clear that no one is above the law. We expect SRs to be objective & accurately informed. Advancing a misleading narrative only tarnishes @UNGeneva’s reputation.”
Hi there! I’m Akash. I was born and raised in Bengaluru, India. I am a freelance content writer and a blogger. I am currently a student studying at a prestigious law school in India. I am an avid reader and writer.
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