The communication joins a list of growing chorus by global bodies and international watchdogs against the worsening press freedom scenario in India.
SRINAGAR: The UN Special Rapporteur for protection of right to freedom of expression’s “serious concerns” over the reports of arbitrary detentions and intimidation of journalists in Kashmir is the latest in what has been a global spotlight on Jammu and Kashmir’s lack of press freedom.
The communication, sent to the Indian government on June 3 earlier this year, was made public on Wednesday, August 25.
The letter takes note of alleged incidents of harassment meted out to Kashmiri journalists Fahad Shah, Qazi Shibli, Sajad Gul, Auqib Javeed and also raises the issue of closure of the office of the Kashmir Times newspaper.
“We express serious concern at the reported acts of harassment and seemingly arbitrary detention and criminal proceedings and detentions levied or imposed against the aforementioned journalists, which is reportedly related to their journalistic activities on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir,” the letter reads.
The communication joins a list of growing chorus by global bodies and international watchdogs against the worsening press freedom scenario in India. In 2021, India was ranked 142 at World Press Freedom Index making it the one of the least free countries in the world for journalists.
On August 26, Yahoo shut down news sites in India following new foreign direct investment rules that limit the foreign ownership of media firms operating and publishing digital content in India. Last year, HuffPost India pulled the plug on its India operations citing the same reasons.
J&K has been marked out uniquely by global bodies who accuse government of relentlessly persecuting reporters and editors in the region, particularly after August 5, 2019 when the former state’s special status was read down.
This week, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism published a damning paper titled ‘Killing the story: How the Kashmiri press was silenced after the region lost autonomy.’ The paper traces the strategies and methods applied by the Union government for months before and after the reading down of Article 370, resulting in the total muzzling of media in Kashmir.
The UN letter states that should the Indian government fail to respond within 60 days, the communication will be made public via the communications reporting website and subsequently be made available in the usual report to be presented to the Human Rights Council. The Union government’s lack of response is perhaps why the letter is now available to the public.
The letter raises the issues pertaining to registration of various FIRs against The Kashmir Walla, whose editor Fahad Shah has been summoned numerous times by the police in the region.
The letter has questioned the ‘arbitrary detention’ of journalist Auqib Javeed, an independent journalist. It notes how Javeed, who reported about the alleged intimidation of young social media users in Kashmir over tweets critical of the Narendra Modi government’s policies in the region, was summoned to Cyber Police Station in Srinagar and interrogated.
The letter also mentions how J&K police thrashed Javeed and confiscated his electronic devices without a warrant while denying him legal representation.
Pertinently, on August 26, Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana took note of the “disturbing trend” of police siding with the political parties when they are in power.
The letter also takes note of FIR against journalist Sajad Gul who reported about a demolition allegedly in absence of necessary permissions taking place in north Kashmir town of Hajin in February 2020. The letter summarises what appears to be a retributive response from the police, which includes damage to Gul’s property and an FIR.
Also read: Kashmir: FIR Against Journalist After Tehsildar Vows Revenge Over Demolition Drive Report
Similarly, the report also regrets the alleged mistreatment of Qazi Shibli, editor of the Kashmiriyat and the cancellation of the allotment of a building to the Kashmir Times newspaper, leading to the closure of its Srinagar office.
“We are also particularly concerned that some of the above journalists seemingly did not have access to legal representatives while in detention, in apparent contravention of the right to counsel and to a fair trial under international human rights law,” the letter reads.
“We are deeply concerned that these alleged violations of the rights to freedom of expression, privacy, and to a fair trial and defence guarantees may be part of a broader pattern of silencing of independent reporting in Jammu and Kashmir, which in turn may ultimately deter other journalists and civil society more broadly from reporting on issues of public interest and human rights in the region.”
The letter also sought information about the measures the authorities were taking to ensure that journalists and human rights defenders in Kashmir are able to “carry out their peaceful and legitimate work in a safe and enabling environment without fear of threats or acts of intimidation.”( The wire)
