AIITEU stands in complete solidarity with Newsclick journalists, associates and employees harassed by the draconian UAPA

On 3rd October 2023, over a hundred journalists either directly associated with Newsclick or individual contributors, some cartoonists and satirists and other Newsclick employees in the office were raided. The raids occurred in the Newsclick office and at the homes of journalists. Even the IT employees in the office were not spared and the personal phone and laptops of all of them were seized using the UAPA search and seizure warrant. Multiple people were detained and finally, Senior Journalist Prabir Puryakastha and HR Head Amit Chakraborty were arrested under the draconian UAPA.
Multiple ED raids have been conducted over alleged Chinese funding and the allegations of money laundering in the last 2 years over which no proof has even been offered, nor has the ED filed the chargesheet. Now that the New York Times has released a story about a pro-Chinese American businessman and his funding network making Newsclick a suspect of international funding and control without offering any evidence, the same is being used to target the journalists and employees of Newsclick by the government of India.
Newsclick has been covering the voices and movements of workers and farmers and their unions and has been an anti-war voice on the international front, putting forward the interests of working people of the Global South. These are the things which are often conveniently ignored by the mainstream media and thus Newsclick has been a target of the establishment for over 2 years now. But the level of targeting of individuals sets a horrible individual precedent of an authoritarian establishment muffling the voice of the free press.
AIITEU stands in complete solidarity with the Newsclick team, its journalists and its employees.