• Mohammed Zubair, a co-founder of Alt News, is detained for tweeting a clip from a 1983 film.
• It was allowed by the censor board, according to his attorney in court.
• However, fact-checker Mohammed Zubair’s attorney informed a Delhi court that his client was detained for it.

Mohammed Zubair, a co-founder of Alt News, is detained for tweeting a clip from a 1983 film that had been allowed by the censor board, according to his attorney in court.

Even though the tweet in question was a screenshot from a 1983 film that was approved by the censor board, fact-checker Mohammed Zubair’s attorney today informed a Delhi court that his client was detained for it. The only distinction between those aliases and mine is my name, my job, and my faith, said attorney Vrinda Grover, referring to Mr. Zubair’s status as a Muslim journalist.

One of the creators of the fact-checking website Alt News, Mr. Zubair, provided an image from the timeless film “Kissi Se Na Kehna” by Hrishikesh Mukherjee in a tweet from March 2018. It depicts a hotel sign that says “Hanuman Hotel” in Hindi, but paint stains indicate the building was formerly known as the “Honeymoon Hotel.”

Mr. Zubair appeared to be making fun of the BJP taking office in 2014 when he commented beside a picture, “Before 2014: Honeymoon Hotel, After 2014: Hanuman Hotel.”

[embedpost slug=”altnews-journalist-mohammed-zubair-detained-for-his-2018-tweet-that-hurt-religious-sentiments”]

The police’s assertion that Mr. Zubair modified the image was refuted by the defendant’s attorney, who also argued that the accusations of inciting hostility or hurting religious sensibilities were without merit. “We are not in a place of worship here. It’s a joke on newlyweds… The entire situation is almost ludicrous.”

She argued for bail by claiming the police were abusing their authority. “What has this tweet caused to occur between 2018 and 2022? My client is a target because of what he does. Although he may be confronting strong individuals, this can’t be the cause for his harassment “She informed the jury.

However, the Delhi Police claimed he was a fact-checker “just seeking attention.”

It requested five days in jail while referencing further FIRs filed against him. In reference to a tweet in which Mr. Zubair had posted, “Pray to Hanuman, monkeys will not disturb you,” the police’s attorney claimed, “This is an ongoing infraction.” However, according to his attorney, Mr. Zubair was only repeating a chief minister’s comments (Yogi Adityanath of Uttar Pradesh).

Days after he reported a video of BJP politician Nupur Sharma’s offensive comments against Prophet Mohammed on a TV show, Mr. Zubair was detained by the Delhi Police yesterday night. Last night, a magistrate on duty granted the police one day of incarceration.

He was originally asked for interrogation in a matter from 2020, in which the Delhi High Court had already granted him protection from arrest, his attorney emphasized. However, in this instance, he was detained after a police officer filed a complaint. According to the officer’s complaint, he became aware of a tweet earlier this month from the account “@balajikijaiin” criticizing Mr. Zubair’s tweet from last year.

[embedpost slug=”the-bjps-candidate-for-president-of-india-is-droupadi-murmu”]

Alt News is one of the most well-known fact-checking websites in the world and was established in 2017 as a non-profit. Its founders have endured years of police harassment and internet abuse, especially from right-wing organizations.