Amid The Money Laundering Allegations, Rana Ayyub Gets Support From The Washington Post
Rana Ayyub has been making headlines for a while now over several things. Just recently she made it to the headlines as allegations of money laundering were levelled against her which she has termed as a ‘smear campaign’. And in the recent Karnataka hijab row, a complaint was filed against the journalist for ‘derogatory’ comments against the group of saffron shawl clad students. On 20 February, The Washington Post put out a full-page ad in their publication in support of the journalist with a hashtag – #WeStandWithRana.
Almost every day @RanaAyyub faces threats of violence and death. Journalists should not fear persecution and smear campaigns.
See the ad from the Press Freedom Partnership and @TheCAOV in today's Washington Post. #WeStandWithRana pic.twitter.com/7MOaNZ629f
— The Washington Post Press Freedom Partnership (@wppressfreedom) February 20, 2022
In the ad put out by The Washington Post, the publication stated that the freedom of the press in India is currently under attack. “Almost every day Rana Ayyub faces threats of violence and death. She has been the target of prejudiced investigations and online harassment. Her bank account was frozen over her charitable work. Journalists shouldn’t fear persecution and smear campaigns #WeStandWithRana,” read the ad. Taking to Twitter, journalist Rana Ayyub shared a picture of the ad and thanked the publication as well as her colleagues for their support while adding that she will continue to fight for the truth.
A full page in the Washington Post today about the witch-hunt against me. Cannot thank my colleagues and publication for having my back at such a crucial time for me. I promise to keep fighting the truth @elopezgross @washingtonpost @wppressfreedom pic.twitter.com/9XLFRi6ZDr
— Rana Ayyub (@RanaAyyub) February 20, 2022
Responding to her tweet a user stated that Rana Ayyub is the source of envy for “some ‘liberal’ journalists” while adding that they find joy in watching her in trouble. Responding to the tweet, the journalist said, “Everybody is chatur enough.”
Everybody is chatur enough :)
— Rana Ayyub (@RanaAyyub) February 20, 2022
Also Read: Rana Ayyub Attached To 1.77 Crores Money Laundering Case Under The Pretext Of Charity
Earlier this month, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached Rana Ayyub in a case of money laundering. Assets worth over 1.77 crores belonging to the journalist was have been locked by the authority. The action taken by the ED is based on an FIR registered by the Uttar Pradesh police in September last year that accused the journalist of collecting a huge amount of money from the public via an online crowdfunding platform, Ketto, under the name of charity but she allegedly diverted the funds. ED has issued a provisional order to attach the assets of the journalist which include Rs 50 lakh worth of fixed deposits and other amounts kept in two accounts in a private bank of Navi Mumbai.
The investigation agency has claimed that the journalist is the account holder for the two bank accounts that hold bank deposits. As per the ED, a total of Rs 1, 77, 27, 704 was acquired by the journalist from Ketto. On the other hand, the journalist has called this a ‘smear campaign’ against her and stated that everything she received from Ketto has been accounted for and ‘not a single paisa has been misused’. The journalist also issues an official statement regarding the same on Twitter.
My statementhttps://t.co/EgMfHXjoaT pic.twitter.com/tlxahJz94J
— Rana Ayyub (@RanaAyyub) February 11, 2022
In January last week, Rana Ayyub has opened up about the trolling and cyberbullying she has to face. Taking to Twitter, she has shared that she received over 26,000 tweets full of rape and death threats as well as vulgar comments. She was also termed a ‘terrorist sympathiser’ by the trolls due to a tweet she posted in solidarity with Yemen.
