New Delhi, 5 October 2023: Mohammed Zubair, co-founder of Alt News, is one of the three nominees for the journalism category of the 2023 Freedom of Expression Awards which are given out by the Index on Censorship in recognition of those who engage in “courageous, high-impact, and determined journalism that exposes censorship and threats to free expression.”
Index on Censorship’s Freedom of Expression Awards celebrate the contributions of those who have had remarkable impact against fighting censorship in any parts of the world.
There are four categories like Arts, Campaigning, Journalism and the Trustee award, and the winners of this award are honoured at a grand celebration in London, including financial support.
In an official statement released Wednesday, Index on Censorship said, “After co-founding the leading Indian fact-checking platform, Alt News Mohammed Zubair faced significant threats after challenging mis/disinformation propagated by influential members of the ruling party.”
Earlier on June 27, Delhi police arrested him over a 2018 tweet for “insulting Hindu religious beliefs”. Later, some other charges like criminal conspiracy, destroying evidence and receiving foreign funds were invoked against him. Later on, Zubair was granted bail by the Supreme Court of India.
In July 2022, Co-founders of fact-checking website AltNews Pratik Sinha and Mohammed Zubair and Indian author Harsh Mander were nominated and considered to be among the favourites to win this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.
There are about 343 candidates of which 251 are individuals and 92 are organisations in the running for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2022. The winner of the Nobel Prize will be announced on October 7 in Oslo.
