THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday strongly condemned the detention of journalists from the state in Karnataka and said that curb on media freedom is a 'fascist mindset'.

"I strongly condemn the attempt to portray journalists as troublemakers and their news gathering equipment as weapons. Onslaught on media freedom is a fascist mindset. There must be strong public sentiment against this," Vijayan said in a statement.

He also assured that the state government will ensure the safety of journalists from Kerala travelling to Mangalore for reporting.

In Mangaluru, two people were killed in police firing during the Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests, and several people along with journalists were detained on Thursday. Some Kerala-based journalists were detained on early Friday in front of Government Wenlock hospital, where the post-mortem of the two deceased was underway. Their cameras and mobile phones were also seized.

A Kannada news channel had earlier reported that 'fake jounalists' were arrested. However, the report was met with outrage from the media fraternity, following which the channel brought down the news item.

Meanwhile, over 150 journalists from various media houses in the state capital braved rains and protested the controversial CAA and the arrest of their colleagues in Mangaluru.

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