Editors Guild of India condemns Kashmir journalist Fahad Shah's arrest

Editors Guild of India urged the state administration to 'respect democratic values and stop the harassment of journalists in the name of national security'

The Editors Guild of India on Sunday strongly condemned the arrest of 'Kashmir Walla' editor Fahad Shah and urged Jammu and Kashmir government to release him, saying it should ensure that "FIRs under harsh penal laws, intimidatory questioning, and wrongful detainment are not used as tools for suppressing" journalists’ rights.

In a statement, the Editors Guild said Shah's arrest was made on the "specious ground of glorifying terrorist activities, spreading fake news and inciting general public for creating law and order situation".

It urged the state administration to "respect democratic values and stop the harassment of journalists in the name of national security".

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"Shah had been questioned four days earlier for his reporting on a police raid in Pulwama in late January that left four people dead. He has been summoned and detained multiple times for his writing over the past few years," it said

"This arrest is part of a larger trend in Kashmir of security forces calling journalists for questioning and often detaining them, because of their critical reporting of the establishment," it said.

In a separate incident, the Editors Guild said, another journalist Gowhar Geelani has also been summoned by the executive magistrate of Shopian district to appear in court on February 7 for “acting in a manner prejudicial to public interest”. Last month, Sajad Gul, another journalist of Kashmir Walla, was also arrested because of his social media posts that were considered objectionable by the authorities, it said.

Demanding the immediate release of Shah as well as Gul, it said, "the space for media freedom has progressively eroded in Kashmir. Last month, security forces abetted some journalists in a coup of the Kashmir Press Club management, and then later on state authorities shut down the club completely, reverting the land back to the Estates department."

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