“His Case Is…”: India On Journalist’s Claims That He Was “Forced To Leave”

The government today said that French journalist Sebastien Farcis’ claims that he was “forced to leave” the country were incorrect and that the renewal of his work permit was under consideration.

“Mr Farcis is an OCI card holder and under our regulations requires approval to carry out journalistic assignments. He has re-applied for renewal of work permit in May 2024, and to the best of my knowledge, his case is under consideration,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

“He has the right to make a decision in so far as his travel out of the country is concerned,” Mr Jaiswal added.

Mr Farcis is the South Asia correspondent for Radio France Internationale, Radio France, Liberation and the Swiss and Belgian public radios. He had claimed that he was forced to leave India after 13 years after the Home Ministry refused to renew his work permit.

“No reason has been provided to justify this work ban, despite formal and repeated requests made to the MHA. I have tried to appeal also, but to no avail so far,” he said in a post on X.

“This decision also had a great impact on my family: I am married to an Indian woman, and I have the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) status. I am therefore deeply attached to India, which has become my second homeland. But with no more work nor income, my family has been pushed out of India without explanation, and uprooted overnight for no apparent reason,” he added.

In February, French journalist Vanessa Dougnac left India after the government revoked her Overseas Citizen of India card. Farcis said he had been working in India as a journalist since 2011 and had obtained all the necessary visas and accreditations.

“I have… never worked in restricted or protected areas without a permit. On several occasions, the MHA even granted me permits to report from border areas,” he said in a statement posted on X.