French Journalist Vanessa Dougnac Leaves India Amidst Expulsion Threat
French journalist Vanessa Dougnac who had been facing the prospect of having her Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card cancelled left India on Friday. She had been the longest-serving foreign correspondent in India for multiple international organisations, reports The Wire.
Venessa was issued a two-week revocation of her Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card last month for alleged concerns over her reporting. On January 18, the Foreigners Registration Office under the ministry issued a notice to Dougnac alleging that her “malicious” work has resulted in the creation of a “biased perception” of the country. The notice further alleged that her work could “provoke disorder and disturb peace in certain sections of the society”.
Dougnac in her statement said that she was forced to leave the country where she had come 25 years ago as a student. She also added that this was the place where she had worked for 23 years as a journalist, married, and raised her son. “Leaving is not my choice. I am being forced to leave by the government of India,” she wrote.
The South Asian Correspondent for four French publications, Dougnac was informed by the Ministry of Home Affairs that her Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card would be revoked within two weeks. Dougnac contented that the Home Ministry has not responded to her repeated requests for an explanation for their action. After the notice was reported in the media, the journalist also issued a statement refuting all the accusations and allegations. She asserted her full cooperation with the legal proceedings.
“I see them as part of a wider effort by the government of India to curb dissent from the OCI community. The authorities had earlier suggested I should change my profession. But I am a journalist, a profession that I hold dear to my heart, and I cannot agree to give it up because of unproven accusations,” she wrote in her statement.
In September 2022, the Indian government revoked Dougnac’s journalism permit. CPJ’s review of Dougnac’s work showed that she stopped reporting from India at that time. reports Maktoob Media.
Earlier, around 30 foreign correspondents from India wrote an open letter expressing solidarity with Dougnac and urged the Indian government to resolve the case promptly and to ensure that it does not adversely affect her career or family life.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also condemned the methods used by the Indian authorities to make Dougnac leave and stated it a “symbiotic of the growing persecution of journalists in India”.
