India is growing… fast. For the first time in its recent history it became the fastest growing economy in the world with 7.6 percent growth in 2015, beating out China. Some economists believe that India will continue to be the fastest growing economy in the 2017-18 financial year. While India may still be in better shape economically than everyone else, will it be able to lead a thriving and free democracy?

On Monday, it was reported by multiple news outlets that India’s Central Bureau of Investigation raided the homes and offices of the private news channel NDTV (New Delhi TV) co-founders Prannoy and Radhika Roy.

In a statement, the Roys claim that the raids were conducted based on a complaint that they had not repaid a loan to the private bank ICICI in 2007. However, documentation provided by the Roys seems to prove that they repaid their loan more than seven years ago.

In a statement to The Washington Post, Prannoy Roy said that he wasn’t surprised by the raids because of how the media is treated by the government. He said:

In American media, it is considered patriotic to question and make the government accountable, here to be patriotic is to just agree with everything the government says.

His comments suggest that this investigation is not isolated but emblematic of how India lacks a robust free press that is guaranteed by the government.

The questions are reasonable. According to World Press Freedom Index of 2017, India ranks 136 out of 180 possible countries, down three slots from a year before. In contrast, the Palestinian territories and Afghanistan, two places with massive amounts of political instability and non-democratic regimes rank 135 and 120 respectively.

Though India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stated that he believes that having a free press is “vital in a democracy,” his actions since being elected in 2014 contradict that sentiment. In the first months after his election, Modi chose to use state-backed media sources as his primary choice for disseminating information.

In November 2016, the government shut down NDTV for 24 hours, accusing them of reporting on sensitive information when they covered an attack by terrorists on the Pathankot military base. This was done without even needing a court order, and is completely legal under the Indian government.

Furthermore, the laws in India make it significantly easier to curb dissent from media sources. Section 124A of the Indian Penal code, also known as the sedition law, gives prosecutors the ability to issue life sentences based on negative comments against the government.

India may be on the verge of becoming a superpower, but it remains to be seen if the country will be able to accomplish its lofty goals and still allow a free press. Though the Indian government may say that they love the press, they need to start backing up those words with action.

James Levinson

James Levinson is an Editorial intern at Law Street Media and a native of the greater New York City Region. He is currently a rising junior at George Washington University where he is pursuing a B.A in Political Communications and Economics. Contact James at staff@LawStreetMedia.com

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Wednesday is World Press Freedom Day. A free press is vital for a functioning democracy, and how free the press is often indicates the freedom of a country’s citizens. But new numbers from Freedom House show that 2016 was the worst year for press freedom in 13 years, both in the U.S. and internationally.

Freedom House, an independent democracy watchdog, conducts its analysis based on the political, economic, and legal climate for journalists in each country. The countries are then rated from 0-100–the closer to zero, the better. This year, the U.S. went up two points to 23, which is its worst score in a decade. Reporters Without Borders also makes an annual ranking, and on its list the U.S. ended up in 43rd, in between Burkina Faso and Comoros.

#WorldPressFreedomDay | Journalists Under Threat in Both Democracies and Dictatorships https://t.co/oS4ppXgMyA map via @rsf_inter pic.twitter.com/cGyn9w4Bj0

— Human Rights Watch (@hrw) May 3, 2017

Only 13 percent of countries have a completely free press. The criteria for ranking as free are, according to Freedom House, a media environment with extensive political coverage, guaranteed safety for journalists, minimal state intrusion in the media, and no legal or economic pressures on reporters.

President Donald Trump is mentioned as a partial cause of the decline in U.S. press freedom. He has frequently criticized the media for its coverage and often calls mainstream media “fake news.” Back in March, he tweeted that he might push to change the libel laws. And on April 30, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said the administration had “looked at” changing them. Priebus added that the media needs “to be more responsible with how they report the news.”

The failing @nytimes has disgraced the media world. Gotten me wrong for two solid years. Change libel laws? https://t.co/QIqLgvYLLi

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 30, 2017

Who’s at the Bottom of the List?

Around the world there are countless examples of journalists who are detained because of what they report. The lowest-ranking countries are dictatorships in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. But due to violence from drug cartels and organized crime, Mexico is also deemed one of the worst countries to be a journalist. Independent nonprofit organization Committee to Protect Journalists has documented more than 50 killings of journalists in Mexico since 2010.

The CPJ’s report on Mexico shows that convictions for murders of journalists are very rare, and when they do happen, authorities often fail to prove a clear link to journalism. Instead they often frame it as a regular crime, making it hard to keep data accurate and confront the actual problem. Corruption in the government and police force is also a huge problem.

“As Mexican journalists, we feel alone.” Miguel Ángel Dìaz, who was under threat for his work as a journalist. #WPFhttps://t.co/NMugf62xN5pic.twitter.com/oPwat4x38c

— CPJ (@pressfreedom) May 2, 2017

What’s Happening in the U.S.?

But even in the U.S., reporters are sometimes detained for doing their jobs. In February, freelance reporter Jenni Monet was arrested for covering the protests at the Dakota Access Pipeline near Standing Rock. Despite following police instructions to stay behind police lines, she was detained for 30 hours. She was later charged with rioting and trespassing.

“It didn’t matter that I was complying with their instructions and it didn’t matter that they knew I was a member of the press. I was handcuffed and held in a chain link enclosure with 18 other women for hours,” she said. Amnesty International is calling for the charges to be dropped, citing the critical role of reporters in holding governments accountable for human rights abuses.

On #WorldPressFreedomDay, we need YOU to get loud to demand charges be dropped against #DAPL journalist Jenni Monet https://t.co/hbgEqSE9mPpic.twitter.com/1V9vkp4mlW

— AmnestyInternational (@amnestyusa) May 3, 2017

A Spotlight on Turkey

In Turkey, at least 156 media outlets have been shut down and at least 2,500 journalists have been fired since last summer’s failed coup. More than 120 journalists have been jailed, facing terrorism-related charges, because of what they have written or drawn. One newspaper editor and his brother who appeared on a TV panel discussion about the coup were accused of ‘sending subliminal messages’ to the people behind the coup. Both were arrested, as was the TV show’s presenter.

Since the coup, President Erdogan has cracked down on all kinds of dissent. Last weekend, almost 4,000 people were fired from public offices and the government blocked Wikipedia. Now more than 250,000 people have signed an online petition urging the Turkish government to release all the jailed journalists. Many have tweeted photos of themselves using the hashtag #FreeTurkeyMedia, including Chinese artist Ai Weiwei and the Al Jazeera journalists who were imprisoned in Egypt for more than 400 days in 2013.

♫ Ai Weiwei’s done it,
Mandela’s statue’s done it,
Even the #FreeAJStaff‘ve done it,
Let’s do it,
Let’s post a #FreeTurkeyMedia selfie. ♫ pic.twitter.com/aRHrR0e4E8

— FreeTurkeyMedia (@FreeTurkeyMedia) April 24, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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