The killing of journalist Gauri Lankesh by gunmen outside her residence in Bengaluru on Tuesday night raises alarms about the state of freedom of expression in the country, said Amnesty International India today.
“Gauri Lankesh was never afraid of speaking truth to power. Her assassination must be thoroughly investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice,” said Asmita Basu, Programmes Director at Amnesty International India. “The police must investigate whether she was killed because of her journalism.”
55-year-old Gauri Lankesh was the editor of Gauri Lankesh Patrike, a Kannada weekly. She was widely regarded as an independent and outspoken journalist and activist, and a fierce critic of hardline Hindu groups in Karnataka.
Speaking to journalists, the Bangalore City Police Commissioner said unidentified men shot Gauri Lankesh from close range, and three bullets hit her on the neck and chest.
“Critical journalists and activists have increasingly faced threats and attacks across India in recent years. State governments must act to protect those whose voices of dissent are being silenced,” said Asmita Basu.
“Investigations into these killings have been ineffective for too long.”
On 30 August 2015, MM Kalburgi, a prominent scholar and critic of religious superstition and hardline Hindu groups, was shot dead outside his home in Dharwad, Karnataka by unidentified assailants. Over two years later, there has been little progress in the investigation. No charges have been filed yet.
In January 2017, the Bombay High Court criticized the Central Bureau of Investigation for its slow progress in investigating the killings of Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare, activists who were killed in 2013 and 2015 respectively.
The Committee to Protect Journalists has said that there have been no convictions in any of the 27 cases of journalists murdered for their work in India since 1992. In 2016, the organization urged the central government to bring together journalists, scholars and experts on freedom of expression to submit draft proposals for a national-level journalist safety and protection mechanism.
For more information please contact Elizabeth Berton-Hunter, Media Relations 416-363-9933 ext 332 bberton-hunter@amnesty.ca
