Kashmiri journalist Sajad Gul’s Public Safety Act was quashed by the Jammu & Kashmir High Court on 19 November last year. But even after weeks have passed, Gul remains in jail in connection with a case over his social media post which led to his arrest in January 2022.
Over a month after the PSA quashment, Gul’s family is still waiting to see their son back at home. Sajjad Gul, 27, was booked under the controversial law on 16 January 2022, a day after he was granted bail by the local court in District Bandipora in another criminal case registered against him.
Gul was arrested by police on 06 January 2022, for posting a video clip on his social media handle about a protest at the home of a local militant, killed during an encounter between security forces & militants.
Sajad Gul’s Public Safety Act (PSA) came days after Fahad Shah, another Kashmiri journalist was granted bail by the Jammu & Kashmir Court in a case publishing a seditious article in his Magazine Kashmir Walla where Gul was working as a trainee reporter before his arrest.
The Public Safety Act, which has been declared a “draconian law” by Human Rights Watch and “Lawless law” by Amnesty International was brought into force in 1978 to stop timber smuggling and later on the same was used to suppress opponent political leaders.
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here .