MEA responds to Germany's absurd interests of monitoring Mohammad Zubair case
Germany Foreign Ministry spokesperson had said on Wednesday (Jul 6) that they are closely monitoring the case of Mohammed Zubair.
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New Delhi, Jul 8: A day after Germany said it is monitoring the case of the alleged objectionable tweet by Alt News co-founder Mohammad Zubair, the Ministry of External Affairs said it is a domestic issue on which a judicial process is underway and it would not be appropriate to comment on a subjudice matter.
MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said while responding to media queries, "It is a domestic issue, there is a judicial process underway in this case. It would not be appropriate to comment on a case that is subjudice." He added, "Independence of the judiciary is well recognized. Uninformed comments on judiciary are unhelpful and should be avoided."
The German Foreign Ministry spokesperson had said on Wednesday (Jul 6) that they are closely monitoring the case of Mohammed Zubair. The German spokesperson had 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 specific case and our embassy in New Delhi is monitoring it very closely."
In its statement, Germany said, "India describes itself as the world’s largest democracy. So one can expect democratic values like freedom of expression and of the press to be given the necessary space there." On being asked about the statement of the German Foreign Ministry and why Germany seemed reluctant to criticize the authorities on this specific case, beyond making points of principle, the spokesperson said, "I would not say that I was not precise in my criticism."
Alt News Co-founder Mohammed Zubair was arrested on Jun 27 and sent to one day of police custody after a First Information Report (FIR) was registered against him based on a Twitter posting, which another Twitter handle alleged "hurt Hindu sentiments." The contentious tweet by Zubair was posted in Mar 2018. After a Delhi court on Jul 4 dismissed the bail application of Zubair, he was taken to Sitapur in connection with a case registered against him. The court on Saturday sent Zubair to 14-day judicial custody.