Media watchdog urges India to protect journalists

(January 07, 2011) An international media watchdog group says journalists working in India's conflict zones face intimidation and false arrest, without the same protections as those in major cities. Reporters Without Borders asked India on Friday to explain last week's arrest of two journalists in different states who were accused of meeting communist rebels known as Maoists, saying one had been at a literary conference and the other was entrapped by police. It also condemned charges of intimidating witnesses levelled against a reporter who revealed police abuse in southern Karnataka state. The Paris-based group urged India to guarantee reporters protection from intimidation and abuse, saying a police-backed militia in central Chhatisgargh is sending threatening letters to rights activists and reporters, including three who were told last month to leave or face a “dog's death.”