India: Alternative media under attack (Solidarity needed)

Hyderabad: The state government of Andhra Pradesh has arrested the editor of a newspaper Andhra Jyothy and two other reporters for "burning the effigy" of a person who had earlier vandalised, attacked staff and partially burnt downtheir head office in Hyderabad city.
Editor Srinivas and reporters Vamsi and Srinivas were arrested at midnight from their office. Senior police stormed the office late at night and arrested them on vague grounds. The only explanation they gave was that they had obtained legal opinion.
Burning a picture or effigy is a long standing method of symbolic protest in India and the government of Andhra Pradesh under Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhar Reddy, has arrested the editor and reporters for this and foisted a case of atrocity against them!
The real motive for the arrest and foisting the case is that for several years, Andhra Jyothy has been functioning as an alternative media for diverse voices in the state and has been exposing government and corporate fraud in handing over thousands of acres of prime land to multinational companies in the form of Special Economic Zones, scandals in the privatisation of airports, electricity and collusion with groups stealing public land.
The chief minister's son has become a billionaire through such activities and Andhra Jyothy has exposed several scandals where the son had become a billionaire through shady industrial, land and building deals.
Please send a message of protest to the chief minister at:
cmap@ap.gov.in.
A fax will have more impact when it comes from overseas.
You can fax the chief minister at 91 40 23452498, 23454828 or 23410555.