Condemning the re-arrest of Kashmiri journalist Aasif Sultan, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has said that the draconian Public Safety Act (PSA) is being misused to harass and detain journalists.
Before being granted bail on April 5 by a special NIA court, Sultan was in jail for about four years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Hee was arrested in August 2018, accused of ‘harnessing known militants’, criminal conspiracy, and aiding and participating in militant activities. However, the court found that the government was not able to provide sufficient evidence to prove his linkage to any militant organisation.
The police have rearrested Sultan under PSA only days later on April 10, placing him in Jammu’s Kot Bhalwal jail.
In a statement, the IFJ said, “Under the PSA, Sultan can be held for up to two years without a formal charge against him and without trial. Detainees under the PSA do not have the right to move a bail application, nor hire any lawyer to represent them.”
The journalists’ body also noted that Sultan is the third Kashmiri journalist to be arrested under the PSA in 2022. On February 14, editor of The Kashmir Walla, Fahad Shah was detained under the PSA, while journalist Sajad Gul was also detained under the same Act on January 16, this year. The administration invoked the PSA after in Gul’s case too, after he was granted bail in a separate case.
Expressing grave concern at the re-arrest, Geetartha Pathak, president of the IFJ’s Indian affiliate, the Indian Journalists Union, said, “The IJU urges the authorities not to use draconian laws like the PSA against journalists and allow journalists to perform their duties without any interference.”
Before his arrest, Sultan worked for the magazine Kashmir Narrator and had published an article titled ‘The Rise of Burhan’, which profied the notorious militant commander, killed by the Indian security forces had created unrest in Kashmir.
Sultan’s prolonged detainment and immediate rearrest violates the fundamental rights to freedoms of press and expression enshrined in the Indian constitution,” the IFJ said adding that the “completely arbitrary and new charges under the PSA are a blatant attempt to silence critical and independent reportage in Jammu and Kashmir.”
“The IFJ urges the J&K authorities to immediately release Aasif Sultan and ensure that journalists can work freely and independently, without fear of persecution,” the journalists body said in a statement.
