New Delhi, February 09, 2022 (PPI-OT):Editors Guild of India (EGI) has condemned the harassment of journalists in the name of “national security” after the arrest of The Kashmir Walla editor, Fahad Shah, in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). “The space for media freedom has progressively eroded in Kashmir,” the Guild said in a statement, urging the IIOJK authorities to respect democratic values.

It noted that Shah was earlier questioned for four days over his reporting on a cordon and search operation by Indian troops in Pulwama district in late January that left four people dead. Days before his arrest, The Kashmir Walla had published a news report, where a family was quoted as saying that their innocent son was killed by Indian forces’ personnel during a CASO in Pulwama.

The EGI further criticised the authorities and Indian forces’ personnel for the arrest of another journalist, Sajad Gul and for abetting some journalists in a coup of the Kashmir Press Club management, which led to the shutting down of the premises. It called on the authorities to immediately release Fahad Shah and Sajad Gul and ensure that FIRs under harsh penal laws, intimidatery questioning and wrongful detainment are not used as tools for suppressing journalists’ rights.

For more information, contact:
Kashmir Media Service
Phone: +92-51-4435548, +92-51-4435549
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Email: info@kmsnews.org
Website: www.kmsnews.org