India: Police Manhandle and Detain Reporter Sakshi Joshi at Protest – Police Should Be Held Accountable
Location: India, New Delhi
Date: May 4, 2023
Clothes torn, phone taken, and detained for hours, Sakshi Joshi was reporting from a women-led protest in New Delhi when assaulted by police. The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the manhandling of a journalist on assignment and demands a probe into police actions.
“I will not be afraid, I will not bow down, I will not sit quietly,” wrote veteran journalist Sakshi Joshi after several women police officers roughed her up, pushed her, and tore her clothes in Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, on May 4.
Joshi was assaulted after refusing to stop documenting a sit-in demonstration calling for the arrest of Brijbhushan Sharan Sing, the head of the Wrestling Federation of India. Singh is accused of sexually harassing female wrestlers.
आधी रात में पहलवानों पर हमला
— Sakshi Joshi (@sakshijoshii) May 3, 2023
मुझे हिरासत में लिया, धक्के मारे , कपड़े फाड़े , कैमरा छीना
ये है @narendramodi की @DelhiPolice pic.twitter.com/aL5jzKBOWN
The former BBC journalist was taken to Mandhir Marg police station and detained for several hours.
According to India’s criminal procedure code, women cannot be arrested between sunset and sunrise without the prior permission of a judicial magistrate. Police, however, released Joshi in the middle of the night with nothing but her torn clothes. Police officers also refused to provide legal grounds for her detention, as she told CPJ.
Joshi has filed a complaint contesting her detention with the Delhi police commissioner.
The Press Club of India and Indian Women’s Press Corps have condemned the police harassment of Joshi and have demanded an investigation into the officers involved.
Press Freedom India
An average of three or four journalists are killed in connection with their work every year in India, making it one of the deadliest countries in the world for media workers. Press freedom is in decline under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Authorities regularly harass and detain journalists covering anti-government demonstrations. Indian women journalists are frequent targets of online hate and death threats.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is alarmed at the treatment of Joshi by police officers. The reporter was covering a story of substantial public interest when she was aggressively maltreated and detained by police. We demand that New Delhi police investigate this incident and identify the officers responsible for harassing Shakshi Joshi.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.
If you have been harassed or abused in any way, and please report the incident by using the following form.