Independent Tamil journalist and YouTuber Mukhtar Ahmed was arrested by the Chennai Cyber Crime Cell in June 2026 over an interview he conducted with a political functionary. Rather than pursuing standard civil defamation, state authorities utilized criminal cyber laws to detain him.
This is a growing tactic used to bypass civil courts and immediately imprison digital reporters. Bharataawaz reports on this alarming trend in Tamil Nadu, where the stringent Goondas Act was even invoked against him, posing a severe threat to independent digital journalism and press freedom.
