human rights defender

Siddique Kappan

© Maktoob Media

Organization affiliation

  • Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ)

HRD's year of birth

1980

HRD's Gender

Man

Type of HRD

  • Journalist/Blogger

HRD's thematic area of engagement

  • Other

Current Status

Released on bail

HRD's bio and work

Siddique Kappan is an Indian journalist from Kerala who served as a Delhi-based correspondent for the Malayalam news portal Azhimukham and as the Secretary of the Delhi unit of the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ). He was arbitrarily detained for 28 months under anti-terror and money laundering laws after being arrested by Uttar Pradesh police in October 2020 while traveling to report on the Hathras gang-rape and murder case.

Detained since

Oct 5, 2020

Date of release

Feb 2, 2023

Charge(s)

  • Anti-government propaganda
  • Blasphemy
  • Creating disturbances
  • Financial crimes
  • Spreading fake news
  • Subversion
  • Terrorism

Sentence

Primary Case (UAPA and Sedition - Mathura Police):

Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA): Sections 17 (raising funds for terror) and 18 (conspiracy). Indian Penal Code (IPC): Section 120B (criminal conspiracy), 124A (sedition), 153A (promoting enmity between groups), and 295A (outraging religious feelings). Information Technology (IT) Act: Sections 65, 72, and 76.

Second Case (Money Laundering - Enforcement Directorate): Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002: Section 3/4.

Latitude: 27.46837821563295

Longitude: 77.69484846346498

Geolocation of detention

Country or area of detention

Region of detention

  • Asia: Southern Asia

Location of detention - City/Town

Mathura, Uttar Pradesh

Location of detention - Facility

District jail, Mathura

Recent case update / evolution

Allahabad High Court has granted bail and subsequently the Supreme Court of India relaxed the bail conditions.

Documented by