UN rights experts write to govt about inaction over threats to Mooknayak founder

After the government’s failure to respond to its communication for 60 days, a letter from UN rights experts to the Union government – on concerns regarding the death threats received by journalist Meena Kotwal and the failure of the police to take cognisance of the same – has been made public.

The undersigned include UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor; Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye; Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Fernand de Varennes; and the Working Group on the discrimination against women and girls, the members of which include Melissa Upreti (chair), Dorothy Estrada-Tanck (vice-chair), Elizabeth Broderick, Ivana Radačić and Meskerem Geset Techane.

The letter was sent on February 3 and remained confidential for 60 days.

Kotwal is a Dalit woman human rights defender, journalist and founder of an online news portal, the Mooknayak, which covers issues linked to Dalits and other marginalised groups.

On December 25, 2021, Kotwal had uploaded a video of her burning the Manusmriti on ‘Manusmriti Dahan Diwas’ (Manusmriti burning day; celebrated to mark B R Ambedkar’s symbolic burning of the book in 1927). It was then that she began receiving threat calls, messages and casteist slurs. Some of the men claimed to be from Hindutva groups and even the police.

On 30 December 2021, Kotwal filed a complaint at the Ambedkar Nagar Police Station in New Delhi, with details of the numbers that were contacting her and threatening her, and screenshots of the abusive messages and threats. But an FIR was never filed despite attempts to contact higher authorities. The Sub Inspector reportedly made Kotwal sit for a long time and advised her to not post things such as the aforementioned video instead of filing her complaint, according to the letter.

“The intimidation of and threats against Ms. Kotwal is particularly concerning, as it appears to be in direct retaliation for her exercising of her right to freedom of opinion and expression online, which in this instance involves a protest against the oppression of women, among whom Dalit women are disproporationaly subjected to multiple forms of discirmination and violence and extremely marginalised, constituting a violation of international human rights law and standards,” the letter read.

“The threats and harassment that Ms. Kotwal has been subjected to are occuring against a backdrop of orchestrated intimidation campaigns against groups of women online in recent weeks and months in India, revealing a seriously concerning online environment for women journalists, human rights defenders, politicians and activists. We further conveyed our concern regarding the alleged delay in filing a FIR based on Ms. Kotwal’s complaint, and hence a delay into the investigation of the allegations of threats and abuse, despite her repeated attempts to urge authorities to do so.”