Condemn The Arrest Of Senior Journalist Syed Mohammad Kazmi
By Concernrned Citizens
10 March, 2012
Countercurrents.org
The undersigned condemn the arrest of senior journalist Syed Mohammad Kazmi by the Delhi Police Special Cell in connection with the attack on Israeli diplomat last month. Mr. Kazmi’s arrest is reminiscent of the arrest and false allegations against another veteran journalist, Iftikhar Gilani, several years ago. We fear that Mr. Kazmi may be made a scapegoat in order to please an international lobby. It is no secret that Israel held Iran culpable within minutes of the attack, and there has been immense pressure on India to sever its ties with Iran—both from Israel and US (to the extent that US displayed its obvious unhappiness to foreign secretary Ranjan Mathaiwith the fact that India was not heeding the unilateral sanctions imposed by the US on Iran).
Israel also pressured India to support a resolution condemning “Iranian terrorism” in the UN Security Council. While the Indian government has so far held out against the pressure, even refusing to implicate Iran in the attack, a recent report in Jerusalem Post stated that, “Israel provided the Indian authorities with information on two suspects in the attack connected with Iran” (http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=257830). Has Mr. Kazmi been picked up upon tips provided by Israeli agencies? How credible can these inputs be, given Israel’s clear intent to condemn and implicate Iran as the source of the attack? We are anxious that the Persian-knowing Mr. Kazmi, a journalist with the Iranian News agency, IRNA, who would obviously be in regular touch with his sources and employers in Iran and the Iranian embassy, is being targeted precisely because of these reasons.
Mr. Kazmi is well respected and known to the journalist fraternity for his professional integrity. We demand that he be immediately released on bail and the due process of law followed.
In solidarity,
1. Aamir Idrisi, President, Association of Muslim Professionals
2. Abdul Daiyan, social activist, Bihar
3. Abu Zafar Adil Azmi, Special Correspondent, Afkar-e-Milli
4. Achin Vanaik, writer, activist
5. Afroz Alam Sahil, Editor, Beyondheadlines
6. Ajit Sahi, Senior Journalist, Delhi
7. Anuradha Bhasin, Editor, Kashmir Times
8. Arundhati Roy, Writer and Activist
9. Asad Zaidi
10. Azam Khan, social activist, Hyderabad
11. Bhavna Sharma, social activists, Anhad
12. Bobby Kunhu
13. Dilip Khan, Journalist
14. Dr Anand Pradhan
15. Dr. Hilal Ahmed, Associate Fellow, CSDS
16. Dr. Saroj Giri, University of Delhi
17. Dr. Zafarul Islam Khan, Editor, the Milli Gazette
18. Farah Naqvi, Writer & Activist, Delhi
19. Fr Cedric Prakash, Human Rights Activist
20. Gauhar Iqbal, Palestine Foundation
21. Hanif Lakdawala, social activist, Gujarat
22. Harsh Kapoor, SACW.net
23. Hilal Ahmed
24. Imran Khan, social activist, Anhad
25. Jawed Naqvi, Senior Journalist
26. John Dayal, Member, National Integration Council
27. Kamayani Bali Mahabal
28. Khadeeja Arif, BBC News
29. Khurshid Anwar
30. KN Panikkar, Historian
31. Kundan Pandey, Journalist
32. Madhuresh Kumar
33. Mahesh Bhatt, Filmmaker
34. Mahtab Alam, Civil Rights Activist and Freelance Journalist
35. Manisha Sethi, Jamia Teachers' Solidarity Association
36. Mansi Sharma, Social Activist
37. Md. Ali, Twocircles.Net
38. Mukul Dube
39. Mukul Kesavan, writer and historian
40. Mumtaz Alam Falahi, Editor, Twocircles.Net
41. Nandita Das, film actress
42. Navaid Hamid, Member, National Integration Council
43. Neshat Quaiser, Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi
44. Panini Anand, Editor, Pratirodh
45. Prof. Anuradha Chenoy, JNU
46. Prof. Anwar Alam, Center for West Asian Studies, Jamia
47. Prof. Apoorvanand, Delhi University
48. Prof. Jairus Banaji, Historian
49. Prof. Kamal Mitra Chenoy, JNU
50. Prof. Kamal Mitra Chenoy, JNU
51. Prof. Nirmalangshu Mukherjee, University of Delhi
52. Prof. Shohini Ghosh, MCRC, Jamia
53. Ram Puniyani, social activist, writer
54. Sadiq Naqvi, Journalist
55. Sanjay Kak, Filmmaker
56. Sanjay Sharma, social activist, Anhad
57. Satya Sivaraman, journalist
58. Seema Mustafa, Senior Journalist
59. Shabnam Hashmi, Social Activist, ANHAD
60. Shafi Mahajir ,advocate Hyderabad
61. Sharmila Tagore, Actor
62. Shivam Vij
63. Sohail Hashmi, filmmaker, writer
64. Soheb Niazi
65. Sucheta Dey, President, JNU Student Union
66. Sukumar Muralidharan, journalist
67. Tanveer Hussain, activist, Kashmir
68. Tarique Anwar, Journalist
69. Vijayan MJ, Activist
70. Vivan Sundaram, artist
71. Waliullah Laskar, Activist
72. Zaheeruddin Ali Khan, Editor, Siasat
73. Zoobi Amir, Film Maker Delhi
74. Binu Mathew, Editor, Countercurrents.org
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