CPJ seeks security for journalist Rana Ayyub and her father

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has sought immediate steps by Indian authorities to guarantee the safety of journalist and Washington Post columnist Rana Ayyub and her family, after she “received multiple threats via her phone from someone who knew her home address”.

“The threats of violence made against Rana Ayyub and her father from an unknown international number are deeply concerning,” said CPJ’s India representative Kunal Majumder.

“Authorities must act swiftly to identify and hold accountable those responsible and ensure the safety of all journalists in India so they can work without fear of intimidation or violence,” he said.

Ms. Ayyub told the CPJ and stated in a November 3 police complaint that she received multiple video calls, phone calls, and messages via WhatsApp over a 20-minute period on November 2, demanding that she write a column on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, in which about 3,000 Sikhs were killed after the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

“The caller stated Ayyub’s home address and threatened to send people there to attack her and to kill her father, who lives with her, if she failed to publish the article, according to Ayyub and the complaint, which she filed with Kopar Khairane police station in Navi Mumbai, in Mumbai Metropolitan Area,” said the CPJ statement.

The CPJ said that in her complaint, Ms. Ayyub mentioned that the profile image of the caller matched a photograph of “gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who is currently lodged in a Gujarat prison. “CPJ has not been able to identify Bishnoi’s lawyer or independently verify the link between the caller and Bishnoi,” it said.

Ms. Ayyub said police officers were sent to her residence for protection following the threats.

“The prominent journalist’s personal number was leaked online last year and her reporting has previously led to online trolling, official intimidation,  criminal investigations, and rape and death threats,” noted the CPJ.