Rana AYYUB
Photo Credit: Mohit Varu
An investigative journalist facing death threats for her reporting
Indian writer and journalist Rana Ayyub’s life and safety have been threatened in retaliation for her human rights reporting. In November 2025, after she publicly commented on the legacy of the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom, Ayyub received a series of death threats targeting her and her father. Indian authorities have failed to bring those responsible to justice, reflecting the broader impunity surrounding threats against journalists in India that are used to silence critical reporting.
A writer and investigative journalist, Rana Ayyub has faced escalating threats to her life and safety, underscoring the severe risks confronting independent journalists in India. On 2 November 2025, she received a series of death threats via phone calls, messages, voice notes, and video calls from a Canadian phone number. The unidentified caller revealed knowledge of Ayyub’s home address and her father’s whereabouts, threatening to kill them both if she did not publish an article glorifying the 41st anniversary of the assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
The threats began shortly after Ayyub shared an Instagram post reflecting on the legacy of the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom and its links to later communal violence. After blocking the number, Ayyub received security alerts suggesting attempts to access her phone and personal accounts.
On 19 November 2025, PEN International, together with other international and Indian civil society organisations, wrote to the Navi Mumbai Police Commissioner calling for a formal investigation into the threats and for immediate protection for Ayyub and her family. While police registered her complaint and provided limited protection, concerns remain about the adequacy, transparency, and effectiveness of the investigation.
These threats form part of a long-standing pattern of harassment of Ayyub as PEN International documented in a 2018 report on freedom of expression in India. She has been subjected to coordinated online abuse; doxxing; and rape and death threats linked to her reporting on sectarian violence and human rights abuses (see Case List 2018). In 2018, UN human rights experts called for her protection.
Born on 1 May 1984, Rana Ayyub is a contributing opinion writer for the Washington Post and the author of Gujarat Files: Anatomy of a Cover Up(2016). In 2024, she received the International Press Freedom Award from Canadian Journalists for Free Expression. She was also a 2022 John Aubuchon Award Honouree and received the 2022 Overseas Press Club Award. Despite sustained intimidation, she continues to report on issues of public interest.