NEW YOR: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an independent watchdog body, says it is “highly concerned” after Indian investigative journalist Rana Ayyub’s was repeatedly questioned by intelligence personnel during a reporting trip in the northeastern state of Manipur in early October, and called for end to her harassment.
CJP said that it received the information about Ms. Ayyub, an outspoken critic of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, from three people familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing fear of official retaliation. It said Ms. Ayyub’s personal number was leaked online and she received hundreds of hostile calls.
“The relentless targeting of Rana Ayyub, one of India’s most prominent journalists, is shameful,” CPJ Asia Programme Coordinator Beh Lih Yi, said in a statement.
“Indian authorities must swiftly investigate the doxxing of Ayyub and hold the perpetrators accountable,” she said, adding, ” Using surveillance and intimidation to deter journalists from reporting effectively has no place in a country that prides itself on being the mother of democracy.”
Security personnel stopped and questioned Ms. Ayyub, a global opinion writer at the Washington Post, at checkpoints during her trip, according to those sources and CPJ’s review of video and audio recordings.
Officers asked Ms. Ayyub about who she was meeting and what she was reporting on, CPJ said. They said they followed her for her “safety,” and the measure was ordered by “higher office.”
Ms. Ayyub said on Friday that a right-wing account on social media X shared her personal phone number and asked followers to harass the journalist. She told CPJ she received at least 200 phone and video calls and explicit WhatsApp messages throughout the night, including repeated one-time password requests from various online commerce platforms.
She filed a complaint with the cybercrime police in Mumbai, India’s financial capital, on Friday.
Ms. Ayyub’s reporting has previously led to online trolling and official intimidation. She previously faced criminal investigations, received rape and death threats, and is currently fighting a money laundering case in court.
