Kishor Ram

Gender: Male

Perpetrator: India

Religion or Belief: Unspecified

Caste: Dalit

Reports of Torture: No

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Date of Detainment: February/24/2022

Current Status: Released

Religious Leader: No

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment

Reason for Persecution: Reporting on Religious Freedom Conditions or Documenting Religious Freedom Violations

Nature of Charges: Hate Speech

Kishor Ram

Extra Bio Info:

Kishor Ram was detained for reporting on religious freedom conditions.

On February 24, 2022, authorities arrested Ram, who is a member of the Dalit community and a journalist known for reporting on marginalized classes and lower caste issues, after he reported on the death of a Dalit youth and the rape of two Dalit underage girls. Police accused Ram of “asking caste of people” and speaking about the “killing of people belonging to SC by upper caste people” when interviewing the victims' families. Ram was charged with "promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc." (Sec. 153A IPC).

On an unspecified date, Ram was released a month after his arrest.

Sources:

USCIRF Tweet May 3, 2022
"Press bodies condemn arrest of journalist Kishor Ram in Uttarakhand, call for his release" Scroll.in
"Indian authorities arrest journalists Kishor Ram and Fahad Shah" Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)