New Delhi: Indian Editor Guild on Sunday condemned the arrest of Kashmir journalist Fahad Shah, said that space for media freedom had been “increasingly eroded” in the Union region.
Guild, in a statement released to the media, demanded that Shah be immediately released.
It also asks the authorities to ensure that fir, intimidation questions and wrong detention are not used as a tool to suppress the freedom of the press.
Shah, Leader Editor News Portal Kashmir Walla, was arrested on Friday by police Pulwama for allegedly posting “anti-national” content on social media.
The police claimed that Shah uploaded content with criminal intentions and to create fear between the community and claim that its posts could lead to legal and order situations.
Guild said that Shah’s arrest was part of the larger trend of security forces who called reporters to be questioned in Kashmir and often hold them up as they reportedly about the establishment.
“Last month, security forces robbed the journal in the Pershmir Press club management coup, and then on the authorities closing the club completely, returning the land back to the plantation department,” he said.
It also demanded another Journo release, Sajad Gul, who was detained under the public safety law, preventive detention law, on January 16, the day after the court had given him a guarantee in a conspiracy case.
“The guild urges the government to respect the values of democracy and stop journalist abuse on behalf of national security,” he said.
Free journalists, said Egi, Flags Attack on Press Freedom at J & K
