INDIA: Immediately Release Journalist Syed Mohammad Ahmad Kazmi

Salem-News.com Eye on the World report.

Syed Mohammad Ahmad Kazmi's arrest seems retaliatory in nature, we must protect free speech of journalists.

(HONG KONG) - The recent arrest and detention of Syed Mohammad Ahmad Kazmi, a well-respected journalist, by Indian police, is an outrage. This reporter covered conflicts such as the Iran-Iraq war and the invasion of Iraq by US-led coalition forces, working for media outlets including IRNA, IRIB, Doordarshan and BBC. Kazmi's face is familiar in Indian media; he has covered many international summits and proceedings in Parliament, his work entailing frequent travel to countries such as Iran, Iraq and Syria.

On 13 February, an Israeli diplomat's wife was injured in a bomb blast in New Delhi. With little evidence, Israeli officials immediately blamed Iran and the Lebanese group Hizbullah for the bomb blast, and attempted to link it to a foiled attack in Tbilisi, Georgia. On 15 February, Mohammad defended Iran’s right to nuclear enrichment, and stated that from his interactions in Iran with lawmakers and MPs he did not believe Iran seeks to develop a nuclear weapon. On 6 March, Mohammad's house was searched by five police officers – none whom produced a search warrant. On 7 March, Mohammad’s son Shauzab was intimidated into signing an arrest ‘memo’, confirming the arrest of his father. Mohammad has now been accused of masterminding the bomb attack on 13 February, which targeted the wife of the Israeli ambassador in Delhi.

Our goal with Eye on the World is to illustrate and highlight politically oriented problems and tragedies that traditional media channels don't have time or interest in covering.

The world has its own set of laws that were agreed upon by the ruling nations in 1948, and many people are not aware of this simple fact. At the root of the concept of world citizenry itself, is the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, an overriding and supreme law that ensures many essential human rights that governments today fail to observe. Also central to any hope of human success, is the understanding of the human hierarchy of needs, as defined by Abraham Maslow- more information on this at the conclusion of this entry. We must use the Internet as a tool of justice at every junction, and we need to assist all human beings, everywhere, and not allow cultural, racial or religious preferences as determiners.

In his letter, Mr. William Gomes asks Mr. Prabhu Dayal of the India Consulate General's office in New York, to see that does India not subordinate its judicial system to the political whims of Israel. Indian citizens should not be at the mercy of foreign intelligence services, or the agendas of external forces wishing to pursue their own interests. Mr. Gomes requests that as Indian High Commissioner, Prabhu Dayal address the genuine concern that Mohammad Kazmi is being targeted because of his work with an Iranian news agency, and ensure that Delhi police force allows Mohammad Kazmi’s lawyer to be permitted during interrogation in order to allay fears that he is being threatened by his interrogators. Unless Mohammad Kazmi is charged, he must be released immediately from police custody.

“

March 29, 2012 Mr. Prabhu Dayal Consul General of India Consulate General of India 3 East 64th Street (Between 5th and Madison Avenues) New York, NY 10065 Tel: (212) 774-0600 Fax: (212) 861-3788 Re: INDIA: Immediately release journalist Syed Mohammad Ahmad Kazmi Dear Mr. Prabhu Dayal, I am writing to express my outrage over the recent arrest and detention of Syed Mohammad Ahmad Kazmi, a well-respected journalist, by Indian police. Mohammad Ahmad Kazmi has been a freelance journalist for almost thirty years, accredited by the Press Information Bureau (PIB). Based in Delhi, he has covered conflicts such as the Iran-Iraq war and the invasion of Iraq by US-led coalition forces for media outlets such as IRNA, IRIB, Doordarshan and BBC. In 1993 he launched his own news agency dedicated to coverage of the Middle-East, called Media Star News and Features. He is a familiar face in the Indian media, having covered many international summits and proceedings in Parliament. His work entails frequent travel to countries such as Iran, Iraq and Syria. On 13 February, a bomb blast in New Delhi injured the wife of an Israeli diplomat. With little evidence, Israeli officials immediately blamed Iran and the Lebanese group Hizbullah for the bomb blast, and attempted to link it to a foiled attack in Tbilisi, Georgia. On 15 February, Mohammad appeared on the political discussion programme Primetime on NDTV. He defended Iran’s right to nuclear enrichment, and stated that from his interactions in Iran with lawmakers and MPs he did not believe Iran seeks to develop a nuclear weapon. On 6 March, Mohammad was taken from the Indian Islamic Centre at approximately 11:30AM. No arrest warrant was presented, and later that day his house was searched by five police officers – none whom produced a search warrant. On 7 March, Mohammad’s son Shauzab was intimidated into signing an arrest ‘memo’, confirming the arrest of his father. Mohammad has now been accused of masterminding the bomb attack on 13 February, which targeted the wife of the Israeli ambassador in Delhi. I am one of the many who believe that the allegations against Mohammad are politically motivated. It is clear that Mohammad Kazmi – whose journalistic and professional records are impeccable – has been targeted due to his affiliation with an Iranian news agency. Worryingly, Mohammad has claimed that he has been threatened by plain-clothed interrogators to be handed over to Israeli intelligence for harsher interrogation. This raises serious questions regarding not only India’s standards of policing, but also India’s national sovereignty. These concerns must be addressed by the Indian government if it is to be viewed as able to protect its own citizens. If Mohammad Kazmi, a respected journalist who on one occasion met with Prime-Minister Manmohan Singh, can be intimidated and detained without charge – what does this say about freedoms under the world’s “largest” democracy? India must not subordinate its judicial system to the political whims of Israel. Nor should Indian citizens be at the mercy of foreign intelligence services, or the agendas of external forces wishing to pursue their own interests. I request that as Indian High Commissioner you address the genuine concern that Mohammad Kazmi is being targeted because of his work with an Iranian news agency. The Delhi police force must ensure that Mohammad Kazmi’s lawyer is permitted to monitor him during interrogation in order to allay fears that he is being threatened by his interrogators. Unless any charge is brought to Mohammad Kazmi, he must be released immediately from police custody. I look forward to you reply. Yours sincerely, William Nicholas Gomes William’s Desk www.williamgomes.org

”

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

As children we are educated in right and wrong, we are told how to conduct ourselves; we learn both expectations and limitations, and from that point we go forth with these tools, and our individual personalities, and fail or succeed accordingly.

In school we quickly understand that without paper, there is no place to write. Once we have paper, a pen or pencil is required to move to the next point. There is a great analogy that exists between this simple concept of paper and pen, and what we know today as Maslow's hierarchy of needs- the theory in psychology proposed in Abraham Maslow's 1943 paper A Theory of Human Motivation.

He demonstrated how without the correct necessities, a person can do little good for themselves, and has none to offer for others. However when people are housed and have clothing, heat, food, health and security, anything is possible. However if just one of these dynamics is removed from the mix, the chance for success can be adversely affected.

Wikipedia describes Maslow's hierarchy of needs as a pyramid consisting of five levels:

The lowest level is associated with physiological needs, while the uppermost level is associated with self-actualization needs, particularly those related to identity and purpose.

The higher needs in this hierarchy only come into focus when the lower needs in the pyramid are met. Once an individual has moved upwards to the next level, needs in the lower level will no longer be prioritized. If a lower set of needs is no longer be met, the individual will temporarily re-prioritize those needs by focusing attention on the unfulfilled needs, but will not permanently regress to the lower level.

For instance, a businessman at the esteem level who is diagnosed with cancer will spend a great deal of time concentrating on his health (physiological needs), but will continue to value his work performance (esteem needs) and will likely return to work during periods of remission.

And finally, if you care about our efforts, please help us by sending a donation, we seriously need it as ad revenue is very limited, and we aren't doing this to make money. Your support allows our attention to remain with content which is vital. There is a PayPal logo at the top of Salem-News.com. Please help us fight the good fight.

Our PayPal email is bonjtheartists@hotmail.com

Special thanks to William's Desk

williamgomes.org

Salem-News.com Writer William Nicholas Gomes is a Bangladeshi journalist, human rights activist and author was born on 25 December, 1985 in Dhaka. As an investigative journalist he wrote widely for leading European and Asian media outlets.

He is also active in advocating for free and independent media and journalists’ rights, and is part of the free media movement, Global Independent Media Center – an activist media network for the creation of radical, accurate, and passionate telling of the truth. He worked for Italian news agency Asianews.it from year 2009 to 2011, on that time he was accredited as a free lance journalist by the press information department of Bangladesh. During this time he has reported a notable numbers of reports for the news agency which were translated into Chinese and Italian and quoted by notable number of new outlets all over the world.He, ideologically, identifies himself deeply attached with anarchism. His political views are often characterized as “leftist” or “left-wing,” and he has described himself as an individualist anarchist.