India: CFWIJ Condemns The Harassment Greeshma Kuthar Had to Face

Threats
Written By 
Location: India, Chennai
Date: September 10, 2021
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Journalist Greeshma Kuthar was harassed by a man while traveling at night. According to Kuthar the incident took place at a prominent junction in Anna Nagar. Greeshma was traveling on her scooter when a strange man in a car passing by insisted on speaking to her. Despite no response from Greeshma, he kept persisting and following her, repeatedly passing inappropriate comments. The man only stopped once Greeshma took a photo of his car’s registration number.

In 2015, Clare exposed high-level corruption known as the 1MDB scandal, which involved then Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak. Subsequently, Clare faced charges of threatening parliamentary democracy. Based on these allegations, the Malaysian authorities made a Red Notice request back in 2015. At the time, the Interpol had refused the request.
Clare believes the arrest warrant issued by Malaysian authorities on September 23 can be used against her in Spain as the country has become a favourite spot for authoritarian regimes to target dissenting voices. The recent arrest warrant has been issued reportedly over criminal defamation charges regarding statements about Sultan of Terengganu’s wife in Clare’s 2018 book on the 1MDB scandal. The senior investigative reporter is worried as Interpol has not guaranteed her freedom in response. 

Greeshma took to her twitter account to detail the incident that took place and express the discomfort she experienced. According to Greeshma, when she approached the traffic cop on location with her complaint alongside the registration number of his car she was redirected to the traffic control room at Roundtana. What followed was a long bureaucratic chase where she was sent from one office to another without much response from those responsible. However, according to Greesham, the process was considerably accelerated once she mentioned that she was a journalist, indicating that public spaces and public offices remain uncooperative for women who do not have the kind of access she does.

The police subsequently arrested the man who harassed Greeshma. The man, who has recently returned to India from the US, was booked under Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Women Harassment Act.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the harassment that Greesham Khuttar had to face. While it is fortunate that the police were able to detain the man responsible for the act, as Greeshma clearly pointed out that the systems in place are entirely unhelpful. Women who do not have the kind of resources or access to news platforms that Greeshma has would have been unable to ensure that those who make public spaces unsafe for them are held accountable. We urge for those in charge to rethink the ways our cities function in order to make public spaces as well as bureaucratic officer more cooperative with women.

 

The CFWIJ strongly condemns the police brutality against journalists. We demand the immediate return of the press cards seized from the security forces. Policies to intimidate journalists should be abandoned, and journalism should be practiced under the criteria of freedom of the press.

If you have been harassed or abused in any way, and please report the incident by using the following form.

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