Press freedom, human rights bodies write to J&K L-G urging release of journalist Fahad Shah

More than fifty press freedom organisations and  human rights organisations wrote to Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, urging for his intervention to release a Kashmiri journalist named Fahad Shah.


The journalist was arrested on 4 February for allegedly “glorifying terrorist activities” and also inciting the public, with the Kashmir Police. The journalist had been named in two prior cases.


This joint letter by the organisations comes  after the Editors Guild of India condemned the Kashmir Police for arresting Shah. They lamented that the space for media freedom has progressively eroded in Kashmir. 


“[Fahad Shah] reporting on events in Jammu and Kashmir is a public service, not a crime, and should be protected under Indian law,” the new letter said, referring to Shah as “a journalist of high integrity”.


The organization also urged L-G Sinha to release other Kashmiri journalists who had been detained under the anti-terror or preventative detention law. Journalists like  Aasif Sultan, Sajad Gul and Manan Gul are names of some of the detained journalists.