Alt News co-founder Mohammad Zubair is currently in police custody and all kinds of reactions are being seen about his arrest in the country and the world. In this episode, Germany’s Foreign Ministry has now questioned the arrest of Mohammad Zubair, saying that journalists should not be harassed for their journalism nor should they be imprisoned for it.
In a video posted by DW’s (Deutsche Welle) chief international editor Richard Walker, the Foreign Ministry representative when asked about Zubair said Germany was committed to freedom of expression and freedom of the press throughout the world. is… and this applies to India as well.
Speaking at a press briefing, the spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry said, “Free reporting is beneficial to any society and restrictions are a cause for concern. Journalists should not be persecuted and imprisoned for what they say and write. We are indeed aware of this particular case and our embassy in New Delhi is monitoring it very closely. We are also in contact on this with our EU partners on the ground – the EU has a human rights dialogue with India and freedom of expression and freedom of the press are a focus of those discussions with India.”
Taking a dig at India’s democratic fabric, Germany’s Foreign Ministry said during the press conference, “India describes itself as the world’s largest democracy, so it is expected to give priority to democratic values such as freedom of expression and freedom of the press.”
German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Christian Wagner said, “We often stress freedom of expression around the world and are committed to freedom of the press. This is very important and this applies to India as well. For this it is necessary that there should be journalism without any restrictions and pressure, but if it doesn’t happen, it is a cause for concern.”
Reacting strongly to Germany’s remarks, the Indian government on Thursday described it as “an internal issue”. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that the matter is before the court so there is no need to comment on it. Bagchi said, “This is our internal matter. The matter is before the court. Our legal system is independent. Any comment on this is useless. It is not right.” The German Foreign Ministry had used sharp words on the arrest of Mohamed Zubair.