Zubair arrest
'Internal matter, any comment not right': India responds to Germany on fact-checker Mohammed Zubair's arrest
New Delhi/IBNS: Responding sharply to the German foreign ministry's comments on fact-checker Mohammed Zubair's arrest, the Indian government Thursday called it "an internal issue" and said it was needless to comment on a case that is before the court.
"This is our internal matter. The matter is before the court. Our legal system is independent. Any comment on it is unhelpful. It's not right," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.
This comes as the German foreign ministry reacted sharply against the detention of Mohammed Zubair.
"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," a German foreign ministry spokesperson had said as quoted in media reports.
He said the European Union had an ongoing human rights dialogue with India and "the freedom of expression and freedom of the press" are on agenda.
"India describes itself as the world's largest democracy. So one can expect democratic values like freedom of expression and freedom of the press to be given the necessary space there," asserted the German spokesperson.
Mohammed Zubair was arrested by the Delhi Police on June 27. He was, at first, sent to one-day police custody by a duty magistrate on the same day.
Days before that, he had flagged suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma's controversial comments on Prophet Muhammad on a TV show.
In March 2018, Zubair shared a meme that used a screengrab from Hrishikesh Mukherjee's classic 'Kissi Se Na Kehna', showing a hotel signboard that read 'Hanuman Hotel' in Hindi, but paint marks indicated it was earlier named 'Honeymoon Hotel'.
Zubair, meanwhile, has cited death threats while making a bail plea in the Supreme Court, which is likely to hear the appeal Friday.
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