Irfan started his career as a journalist in 2015 and covered politics and human rights extensively. He has written for several publications about the situation in Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370
Representative Image. Pic/iStock
The Editors Guild of India on Wednesday said that the “space for media freedom has progressively eroded in Kashmir”.
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The Guild has expressed “deep concern” about the “excessive use” of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) against journalists, most recently, in the case of the arrest of Irfan Mehraj, a Kashmir-based journalist, by the National Investigation Agency (NIA)
In a statement, the Guild said that on the afternoon of March 20, Irfan was called by an investigator on his mobile phone and told to come for a few minutes to the local NIA office in Srinagar. Thereafter he was arrested and subsequently shifted to Delhi.
“Irfan has been booked under the draconian UAPA. According to the NIA, Irfan was previously summoned to Delhi in a case related to "NGO terror funding" and he cooperated.”
The Guild said that the NIA in its press note claimed he was a "close associate" of the Kashmiri human rights defender Khurram Parvez.
Irfan started his career as a journalist in 2015 and covered politics and human rights extensively. He has written for several publications about the situation in Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370.
He also runs an online publication called Wande Magazine.
“Irfan Mehraj's arrest continues a trend in Kashmir of security forces arresting journalists because of their critical reporting of the establishment. These include journalists Aasif Sultan, Sajad Gul, and Fahad Shah.”
The Guild urged the state administration to respect democratic values and stop the “harassment of journalists” in the name of national security.
Also read: Amnesty International calls for immediate release of journalist Irfan Mehraj
Several other media bodies and organisations have condemned the arrest of Mehraj by the National Investigation Agency.
On Tuesday, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor, expressed concern at Irfan’s arrest and called for his immediate release.
Lawlor tweeted: “I'm deeply concerned about Kashmiri HRD and journalist @IrfanMeraj. He was called to come to the @NIA_India office in Srinagar and arrested in a 2020 case, accused of serious offences. I call for his immediate release.”
Earlier, a top press body in India, Press Club of India and a Kashmir based journalist network "Journalist Federation of Kashmir" also demanded immediate release of Mehraj.
The Press Club said that it opposes the “imposing of UAPA on mediapersons” and the “misuse of this draconian law by NIA in randomly arresting Irfan Mehraj”. It said that Mehraj’s arrest “ominously points towards a violation of freedom of speech and expression”.
“We vehemently oppose the imposing of UAPA on mediapersons. The misuse of this draconian law by NIA in randomly arresting Irfan Mehraj, a journalist from Kashmir ominously points towards a violation of freedom of speech and expression. We demand his immediate release (SIC),” the Press Club Tweeted.
Mehraj is a regular contributor to several local, national and international platforms including the international broadcasters Deutsche Welle (DW), Al Jazeera and TRT. His work has also appeared in The Caravan, Himal Magazine, Brighter Kashmir and Rising Kashmir.
Meanwhile, the Journalist Federation of Kashmir, a journalist network based in Kashmir advocating for press freedom also condemned Mehraj’s arrest and said that the arrest “seems to be another tactic of intimidating journalists in Kashmir who have always worked under perilous conditions, holding up values of press freedom in the face of dangers to life and liberty”.
The press body in a thread of tweets said: “This is not the first time journalists from Kashmir have been arrested/harassed/questioned. Summons for questioning and denial of their fundamental right to travel for professional, academic and personal reasons is part of the tactic.”
Journalist Federation of Kashmir condemns the arrest of a prominent journalist Irfan Mehraj on March 20, 2023 by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Mehraj was arrested in Srinagar and then shifted to New Delhi.
Pertinently, three journalists from Kashmir, Asif Sultan, Sajad Gul and Fahad Shah, are in jail.
JFK said that it “strongly condemns the pattern of intimidation and views it as continued attacks on freedom of press in Kashmir”.
“For a vibrant press to flourish in a society, authorities have to move beyond hollow claims of respect for press freedom and work towards a conducive environment where a journalist can report the facts on ground, express opinion on social media without fear, threat of arrest,” it said.
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