Stop witch-hunt of journalists in Kashmir: PUCL demands release of Irfan Mehraj

The Peoples Union for Civil Liberties PUCL a top Human Rights group of the country on Friday said that it condemns the arrest of Irfan Mehraj a Srinagar based freelance journalist under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act UAPA by the National Investigation Agency NIA Mehraj was arrested by the antiterror agency on March 20 from Jammu and Kashmirrsquos capital city SrinagarMehraj 32 Editor for TwoCirclesnet regularly contributed to national and international news organisations including Al Jazeera DW TRT The Caravan and Himal He is also the founder editor of a popular online magazine called Wandersquo magazine which addresses a variety of issues related to Kashmir societyPUCL said that the timing and method of arrest of Mehraj makes it apparent that he was detained for continuing to research ldquopolice and military excessesrdquo and for exercising his journalistic duty of speaking truth to powerldquohellip A clear pattern which emerges is that these arrests are a part of the pattern of the Indian state trying to repress the voice of professional and independent members of the journalist fraternity It follows in the light of scores of journalists and their families being hounded for their work with their homes being raided devices confiscated and with some of them being arrested as wellhelliprdquoThe PUCL said that apart from the arrests of reporters researcher Abdul Aala Fazili was also arrested in early 2022 on grounds of sedition for an article published by the latter in 2011 ldquoThe unprecedented attack on the media has led to many newspapers and online magazines including Kashmir Reader and Kashmir times being pushed to the brink of closurerdquoAlso readSrinagar court hears plea for opening of criminal trial against Bitta Karate lists May 4 as next date of hearingldquohellipThis particular action of targeting human rights work of documenting reporting and publicizing how the Indian state has violated its commitments to rule of lawrsquo constitutional principles and human rights is of grave concern to all those concerned about the future of constitutional democracy itself The work of documenting human rights violations by civil society groups such as the JKCSS is an essential part of the right to free speech Its only when civil society is able to exercise this constitutional right that a society respecting the rule of law becomes even possibleldquoThe essence of a rule of law society is when the state conforms to the law it has itself enacted When the state instead criminalizes those who expose its departures from the rule of law framework it gravely imperils democracy Weaponising the law to persecute human rights activists and groups threatens constitutional order and thereby democracy itselfldquoBy criminalizing and prosecuting speech by dubbing it lsquoanti nationalrsquo India betrays its constitutional promise of guaranteeing to all its citizens the right to speech expression and association all of which involves the right to dissent right to question those in power and seek accountability the right to peacefully assemble protest and form associationsrdquo the PUCL statement saidThe Human Rights group also demanded immediate closure of FIR and the investigations against Parvez and Mehraj and others associated with the JKCCS and dropping all criminal charges against them It also demanded immediate release of Aasif Sultan Sajad Gul Aala Fazili and Fahad Shah from custodyThe PUCL further said that the state should ensure media human rights groups NGOs civil society groups and ordinary citizens can lead a life where the constitutional promise of equality liberty and fraternity is fulfilled