Editors Guild, IWPC condemn detention of 2 women journalists by Assam Police
New Delhi(PTI): The Editors Guild of India (EGI) and Indian Women's Press Corps (IWPC) on Sunday condemned the detention of two women journalists by the Assam Police based on an FIR which alleged they had maligned the image of the Tripura government by their reporting of the recent communal incidents there.
Police officials in both the states have confirmed that Samriddhi Sakunia and Swarna Jha, journalists with HW News Network, who went to Tripura to write on the recent communal incidents there, were detained by the Assam Police at Karimganj's Neelam Bazar, close to the border between the two states on Sunday.
The duo is being kept at a government-run shelter home for women for the night and will be handed over to the Tripura Police on Monday morning, an Assam police officer said.
"Editors Guild condemns this action and demands their immediate release and restoration of their freedom to travel," the EGI said in a statement.
The IWPC also condemned the police action against the two journalists and demanded that they should be allowed to do their job without any fear.
"We understand that the two women journalists, Ms Sakuni and Ms Jha, are to be taken back to Tripura for questioning," the IWPC said, adding, "We demand that they be released immediately and be allowed to do their job.
The two scribes were held by Assam Police on their way to Silchar airport on Sunday. The Assam Police informed them that they were being held as "Tripura Police asked (Assam Police) to detain them (the duo)".
Sakunia and Jha were named in an FIR at Fatikroy Police Station of Tripura based on a complaint filed by a supporter of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, alleging that they had maligned the image of the Tripura government by their reporting, according to a statement issued by their employer.
Earlier, Sakunia had tweeted, "We have been detained at the Nilambazar police station, Karimganj, Assam. We were informed by the officer-in-charge of Nilambazar PS that SP of Gomti District gave the orders for our detention."
A senior police official in Agartala said that the two journalists were detained based on requests by the Tripura Police and a team of officials from Dharmanagar has gone to Nilambazaar to bring them.
The official said the journalists had posted on social media that a mosque was burnt in Gomati district and a copy of the Quran was damaged.
"Police suspect that the videos uploaded by her were doctored and police wanted to know if the videos were fake or true by interrogating them," he added.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
