{"id":26743,"date":"2024-02-18T19:01:48","date_gmt":"2024-02-18T19:01:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/?p=26743"},"modified":"2024-02-18T19:01:48","modified_gmt":"2024-02-18T19:01:48","slug":"delhi-based-french-reporter-forced-to-leave-india-in-sign-of-growing-crackdown-on-press-freedom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/delhi-based-french-reporter-forced-to-leave-india-in-sign-of-growing-crackdown-on-press-freedom\/","title":{"rendered":"Delhi-based French reporter forced to leave India in sign of growing crackdown on press freedom"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"ISLAMABAD: French journalist who had lived in India for the past 25 years was forced to return to France <\/strong>today, 16 February, <\/strong>after being prevented from working and threatened with expulsion. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the methods used by the Indian authorities to make her leave, which are symptomatic of the growing persecution of journalists in India.<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
A Delhi-based freelance correspondent since 2001 for such French-language media as the newsweekly Le Point<\/em> and the newspapers Le Soir<\/em> and La Croix<\/em>, Vanessa Dougnac<\/strong> was initially stripped of her work permit in September 2022.<\/h5>\n
Then, last month, the authorities notified her that they were going to\u00a0withdraw her status as an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI), a lifetime residency permit granted to foreigners who, like Dougnac, are the spouses of Indian citizens.<\/h5>\n
She lodged an appeal against this decision but the outcome seemed highly uncertain given the surreal nature of the allegations made against her. The authorities accused her of \u201cmalicious and critical\u201d journalistic activities \u201cinimical to the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of India and to the interests of the general public.\u201d<\/h5>\n
Threatened with deportation and unable to work as a journalist, Dougnac finally boarded a flight bound for France today.<\/h5>\n
\u201cI am writing these words in tears\u201d, Dougnac wrote in a statement issued just before her departure. \u201cToday, I am leaving India, the country where I came 25 years ago as a student, and where I have worked for 23 years as a journalist. The place where I married, raised my son, and which I call my home. Leaving is not my choice. I am being forced to leave by the government of India.”<\/h5>\n

MYANMAR \u00a0– Anti-journalist terror has grown in every way in two years of Military Rule -Reporters Without Borders<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n