Award-winning Indian Journalist plans to discuss press freedom at Tuesday lunch

Shahina K.K., a crusading journalist covering gender, human rights, and marginalized communities in India, will be the special guest at a National Press Club Press Freedom Committee in-person event on Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 11:30 a.m. in the Reliable Source's McClendon Room.  

This event is free. Attendees are encouraged to purchase their lunch from the Reliable Source. Space is limited. RSVPs are required and can be made to Press Freedom team member Mushfiqul Fazal at [email protected].

Shahina is the recipient of the 2023 Committee to Protect Journalists' International Press Freedom Award. She plans to discuss her experiences fighting for press freedom under worsening conditions in India, which will hold a general election next year, and the broader region.

Currently a senior editor for Outlook magazine, Shahina was one of the first journalists charged under India's Unlawful Activities (Prevention) law, an anti-terrorism measure the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has used extensively to target and silence independent reporting.

Shahina's reporting has cast doubt on the police investigation into the 2008 bomb blasts in Bengaluru. As a result of her journalism, she faces three charges under the penal code, including criminal intimidation, intent to commit a criminal act, and criminal conspiracy, and one count under pertaining to threatening witnesses. Shahina is currently out on bail pending trial. If convicted, she faces a maximum of three years in prison and a fine.

A Muslim by birth, Shahina has been subjected to extensive harassment by Indian right-wing groups seeking to silence her reporting on religious minorities and vulnerable caste groups. She has faced persistent online harassment and threats.