New Delhi: The Editors Guild of India (EGI) on Sunday condemned the arrest of Kashmiri journalist Fahad Shah and asked the state administration to “respect democratic values and stop the harassment of journalists in the name of national security”.
Shah, the editor of news portal Kashmir Walla, was arrested on February 4 for “glorifying terrorist activities” after he reported on an encounter in Pulwama that resulted in four deaths.
The EGI said that Shah was “summoned and detained multiple times for his writing over the past few years”, adding that his arrest is “part of a larger trend in Kashmir of security forces calling journalists for questioning and often detaining them, because of their critical reporting of the establishment”.
It also noted two separate incidents: journalist Gowhar Geelani being summoned by the executive magistrate of Shopian district to appear in court on February 7 for “acting in a manner prejudicial to public interest” and the arrest of Sajad Gul, another journalist for Kashmir Walla, for social media posts.
“The space for media freedom has progressively eroded in Kashmir. Last month, security forces abetted some journalists in a coup of the Kashmir Press Club management, and then later on state authorities shut down the club completely, reverting the land back to the Estates department,” the guild said.
Asking the administration to respect democratic values and stop the harassment of journalists, EGI demanded the immediate release of Fahad Shah and Sajad Gul. It said FIRs under harsh penal laws, intimidatory questioning and wrongful detainment should not be used as “tools for suppressing journalists’ rights”.
The full statement is reproduced below.
The Editors Guild of India strongly condemns the arrest of Fahad Shah, the editor of the Kashmir
Walla, on February 4, 2022, on the specious ground of “glorifying terrorist activities, spreading fake
news & inciting general public for creating [law and order] situation,” as per a police statement post
his arrest.
Shah had been questioned four days earlier for his reporting on a deadly police raid in Pulwama in late January that left four people dead. He has been summoned and detained multiple times for his writing over the past few years. This arrest is part of a larger trend in Kashmir of security forces calling journalists for questioning and often detaining them, because of their critical reporting of the establishment. In a separate incident, journalist Gowhar Geelani has also been summoned by the executive magistrate of Shopian district to appear in court on February 7 for “acting in a manner prejudicial to public interest”. Last month, Sajad Gul, another journalist of Kashmir Walla, was also arrested because of his social media posts that were considered objectionable by the authorities.
The space for media freedom has progressively eroded in Kashmir. Last month, security forces abetted some journalists in a coup of the Kashmir Press Club management, and then later on state authorities shut down the club completely, reverting the land back to the Estates department.
The Guild urges the state administration to respect democratic values and stop the harassment of journalists in the name of national security. The Guild also demands immediate release of Fahad Shah as well as Sajad Gul, and to ensure that FIRs under harsh penal laws, intimidatory questioning, and wrongful detainment are not used as tools for suppressing journalists’ rights.
This story first appeared on thewire.in