INDIA COURT ORDERS RELEASE OF JOURNALIST MOHAMMED ZUBAIR ON BAIL

The Alt News co-founder was arrested last month after an anonymous Twitter user lodged a complaint over a four-year-old tweet.

India’s Supreme Court has ordered the release on bail of a prominent journalist arrested last month over what police said was a “highly provocative” 2018 tweet aimed at straining ties between majority Hindus and minority Muslims.

Mohammed Zubair, a co-founder of fact-checking website Alt News and vocal critic of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was arrested after an anonymous Twitter user lodged a complaint over the four-year-old post.

While granting Zubair, 39, bail on Wednesday, the judges stated that “power of arrests must be pursued sparingly”.

The court also stated that while investigations can continue, there was no justification for keeping Zubair in custody.