Kashmiri editor Fahad Shah held on sedition charge

Update 23/11/2023: After almost two years in jail, Kashmir Walla editor Fahad Shah, who was under anti-terrorism laws, was released on bail by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, and left Kot Balwal jail on November 23. The court quashed certain charges against him, such as abetting terrorism, waging war against the country and promoting enmity, under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). However, the court upheld charges under sections of the UAPA and the Foreign Contribution Act.

The police used a tweet on 5 February to announce that Fahad Shah, the editor of The Kashmir Walla news website, had been arrested the day before in Pulwama, a town in the south of Jammu and Kashmir, for “glorifying terrorism,” spreading fake news and inciting the public to disrupt law and order.

On the basis of these charges, he could be sentenced to life imprisonment under section 124 (A) of the penal code – India’s sedition law.

A nominee for the RSF Prize for Courage in 2020, Shah was summoned by police and arrested on 4 February in connection with The Kashmir Walla’s coverage of a gunfight between police and “militants” on 30 January. It was not the first time he has been questioned in connection with his reporting, but it was the first time such serious charges have been brought against him.

“A journalist cannot be thrown in prison and face spending the rest of his life there simply for doing his job and covering a news story,” said RSF spokesperson Pauline Adès Mével. “This arrest is a disturbing sign and confirms that independent journalism is in the process of disappearing in Indian-administered Kashmir. We call on the territory’s authorities to release Fahad Shah immediately and unconditionally.”

A request for Shah’s release on bail was immediately filed by his lawyer, Umair Rongam, who described his arrest as “shocking” and “the end of the rule of law.”

Worsening situation

“Working as a journalist was never easy in Kashmir, and now with each passing day it seems more difficult,” Shah told RSF in 2017. In recent years, Shah has been subjected to repeated attacks on his home as well as police interrogations designed to intimidate him and get him to reveal the sources for his reporting.

Harassment of all Kashmiri journalists has been growing ever since the government in New Delhi abolished this northern territory’s partial autonomy in August 2019. There have been more violations of the right to information by the local authorities since the start of 2022.

Paramilitaries arrested Sajad Gul, a reporter for The Kashmir Walla, on 5 January and the Indian government closed the Kashmir Press Club two weeks later. Gul’s arrest was “part of a procedure of stopping journalists from reporting incidents that the government sees as problematic,” Shah told RSF at the time.

India is ranked 142nd out of 180 countries in RSF's 2021 World Press Freedom Index.