Zubair – co-founder of fact-checking website Alt News, which exposes misinformation in Indian media – was arrested by Delhi police on June 27 after a Twitter user accused him of insulting Hindus in a 2018 post about the renaming from a hotel to a Hindu god.
Zubair had already been released on bail for the case in Delhi but remained in custody after several police complaints were filed against him in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh in June and July via separate social media posts.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court said all outstanding cases would be combined and investigated by a special unit of the Delhi Police, and ordered his release at 6 p.m. local time.
Among his recent social media posts are videos he believes show Hindu extremists making hateful speeches against Islam, a minority religion in India where nearly 80% of the people are Hindu.
Zubair’s arrest came amid repeated accusations from critics that the BJP is using colonial-era laws to quash all criticism and encourage self-censorship, and has been condemned by free speech advocates.
The spokesman, Nurpur Sharma, was suspended by the BJP after at least 15 Muslim-majority countries condemned her comments, several of which called on India’s ambassadors.
In a statement following Zubair’s arrest in June, the Editors Guild of India said it was “apparent that Alt News’ vigilance was abhorred by those who use disinformation as a tool to polarize society and stir up nationalist sentiments.” “.
Early Thursday, Pratik Sinha, co-founder of Alt News, posted a photo of him with Zubair on Twitter to thank their supporters.
