The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate, the Indian Journalists Union (IJU), on Thursday condemned the use of “harassment and intimidation” to silence journalists in India and urged the government to respect press freedom.

In a statement, the global press freedom body said that India’s latest “crackdown on the press” has seen the arrests of a number of regional media workers, including Kashmiri journalist Irfan Mehraj in connection with a terrorism case and journalists Sanjay Rana and Jaspal Singh for their comments towards local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politicians.