Joint open letter calls on Indian authorities to free Kashmiri journalist Fahad Shah

Organisation:

RSF_en

In response to an alarming surge in violence and judicial proceedings against journalists in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has joined 57 other human rights organisations and media outlets in addressing an open letter to this northern territory’s lieutenant governor, who is appointed by New Delhi, calling for an end to the policy of systematic censorship implemented in the region.

Mr. Manoj Sinha

Lieutenant Governor, Jammu and Kashmir

Raj Bhawan, Gupkar Road, Srinagar-190001

Jammu and Kashmir
India

Paris, 14 February 2022

Dear Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha,

We, the undersigned 58 press freedom organizations, human rights organizations, and publications write to request your urgent intervention to secure the immediate release of Fahad Shah, editor of the online news portal The Kashmir Walla, from jail, and the withdrawal of all police investigations launched into his journalistic work.

On February 4, authorities arrested Shah at the Pulwama police station, where he had been summoned earlier that day for questioning. The first information report states that Shah is being investigated for alleged sedition and making statements causing public mischief, and unlawful activities under the anti-terror Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Prior to his arrest, police had questioned Shah regarding The Kashmir Walla’s coverage of a gunfight between government forces and militants.

Shah is well known to many in South Asia and around the world as a journalist of high integrity. His writing for The Nation magazine was recognized at the 2021 Human Rights Press Awards. His reporting on events in Jammu and Kashmir is a public service, not a crime, and should be protected under Indian law.

We also urge you to arrange the immediate release of other detained Kashmiri journalists– Sajad Gul, Aasif Sultan, and Manan Gulzar Dar – all of whom, like Shah, have been jailed under anti-terror or preventative detention laws in apparent retaliation for their work.

Since the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s political autonomy in August 2019, press freedom and rights groups have documented numerous incidents of detentions and threats to journalists in the region. In view of this, the release of Fahad Shah and other arbitrarily detained journalists is a critical step to prevent further criminalization of the profession in Jammu and Kashmir.

We urge you to ensure that authorities drop their retaliatory investigations into all four journalists, withdraw any unwarranted charges brought against them, and allow Kashmiri members of the press to work freely without facing detention, harassment, and other forms of government reprisal.

Signed:

Alliance for a Secular and Democratic South Asia

Ambedkar King Study Circle

Ambedkar International Center

Aotearoa Alliance of Progressive Indians

Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha

Boston South Asian Coalition (BSAC)

Committee Against Assault on Journalists (CAAJ)

Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)

Council on Minority Rights in India (CMRI)

C19 People’s Coalition

Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma