India arrests Kashmir journalist Irfan Mehraj on ‘terror’ fees | Freedom of the Press Information

Kashmiri journalist Irfan Mehraj has been arrested by India’s Nationwide Investigation Company (NIA) beneath “terrorism” fees as New Delhi continues its crackdown on journalists within the Muslim-majority Himalayan area.

NIA, India’s prime “anti-terror” company, in a tweet on Tuesday mentioned the arrest came about a day earlier as a result of Mehraj’s collaboration with the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), an organisation directed by jailed human rights activist Khurram Parvez.

Parvez was arrested on “terrorism” and different fees in November 2021.

An “investigation revealed that the JKCCS was funding terror actions within the [ Kashmir] valley and had additionally been in propagation of secessionist agenda within the Valley beneath the garb of safety of human rights,” NIA mentioned in a press release on Tuesday.

It added that organisations, together with JKCCS, have been being probed for receiving home and overseas funds whereas growing hyperlinks with proscribed “terrorist” teams together with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM).

The company launched what it known as an “NGO-terror funding case” in October 2020.

Mehraj, who’s the founding editor of Wande Journal, labored with TwoCircles.internet web site. He has reported for a number of worldwide media organisations, together with Al Jazeera and Deutsche Welle.

India’s Hindu-nationalist authorities stripped the area’s semi-autonomy in 2019, saying this was aimed toward tackling “terrorism”. New Delhi has stationed tens of hundreds of its troopers to quash the decades-long armed insurrection. India has blamed Pakistan for backing the armed teams – a cost Islamabad has denied.

Each India and Pakistan declare the disputed area in its entirety, however govern solely components of it.

Indian forces have been accused of widespread human rights abuses, with the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2018 calling for a global probe into the allegations of rights violations.

India’s Hindu-nationalist authorities has jailed a number of journalists as a part of its intensifying crackdown on media freedom since 2019. Kashmiri journalist Fahad Shah, who ran the Kashmir Walla web site, was arrested final February, whereas Asif Sultan has spent greater than 5 years in jail. He was arrested beneath the Illegal Actions (Prevention) Act or UAPA, a legislation beneath which bail is almost unimaginable to get.

‘My son is harmless’

Mehraj’s father, Mehraj-ud-Din Bhat, informed India’s The Wire that Mehraj was requested by the central “anti-terror” company to look at its places of work in Srinagar on Monday night whereas out on task.

“My son is harmless. His work speaks for him loudly. I’ve full religion that reality will prevail and he’ll get justice,” Bhat mentioned.

A senior journalist based mostly in Srinagar, the primary metropolis within the Muslim-majority area, informed Al Jazeera that these arrests have been being made to “perpetuate worry”.

“Typically you are feeling each journalist is silent and nobody will likely be touched. However then, arrests like these present that issues aren’t regular,” the journalist mentioned on situation of anonymity.

“Nobody is writing or talking about something, however nonetheless, there may be a whole lot of worry.”

The Free Speech Collective, an unbiased organisation that advocates for press freedom in India, informed Al Jazeera that the arrest was “an alarming indication of how far the authorities will go to clamp down on unbiased journalism.”

“Mehraj has been researching and writing persistently on vital points, from the plight of Kashmiri Pandits to come across killings and these fees, beneath the draconian Illegal Actions Prevention Act (UAPA), will lead to a silencing of the form of tales he wrote about,” co-founder Geeta Seshu mentioned.

“Journalists in Kashmir are arrested, raided, issued present trigger notices, offloaded from airplanes and defamed as ‘anti-national’. The authorities should cease this systematic concentrating on of unbiased journalists in Kashmir, who search to follow their career with out worry or favour.”

‘Deeply involved’

Amnesty India known as for the journalist’s rapid launch, saying the arrest in reference to a “terror funding case” is “a travesty”.

“Human rights defenders comparable to Irfan Mehraj needs to be inspired and guarded, not persecuted,” Aakar Patel, chair of the board at Amnesty Worldwide India, mentioned in a press release on Tuesday.

“The repression should cease. Criminalization of reputable human rights work is extraordinarily alarming and the authorities should put an finish to this instantly.”

Mary Lawlor, UN particular rapporteur on the scenario of human rights defenders, mentioned she was “deeply involved” for Mehraj’s arrest and known as for his “rapid launch”.

The Observatory for the Safety of Human Rights Defenders joined Lawlor’s enchantment. The organisation mentioned Mehraj was “being focused in retaliation for his work exposing human rights violations”.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti spoke out in opposition to the arrest on Twitter, saying that legal guidelines just like the UAPA are being “abused always”.

The Journalist Federation of Kashmir additionally condemned the arrest by NIA and mentioned Mehraj had been moved from Srinagar to New Delhi.

Journalist Federation of Kashmir condemns the arrest of a outstanding journalist Irfan Mehraj on March 20, 2023 by the Nationwide Investigation Company (NIA).

Mehraj was arrested in Srinagar after which shifted to New Delhi.
1/8 pic.twitter.com/2pFI3Iv59u

— Journalist Federation of Kashmir (@pressfreedomJFK) March 21, 2023

A panel of UN specialists final 12 months condemned the arrest of JKCCS’s founder and president, Parvez, saying his arrest had a “chilling impact” on civil society, rights activists and journalists within the area.

Parvez was identified for his work documenting and reporting severe human rights violations, together with the enforced disappearance and illegal killing in Indian-administered Kashmir.

His detention was prolonged 5 instances by the NIA Particular Courtroom in New Delhi beneath UAPA, which rights teams have dubbed “draconian”.

The UN specialists, who introduced their findings to the UN Workplace for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, mentioned the laws “permits the designation of any particular person as a ʽterroristʼ, bypassing the requirement to ascertain membership or affiliation with banned teams”.

“We name on the Authorities of India to finish reprisals and intimidation of activists and civil society organisations, together with of these like Mr. Parvez who share info and testimony on human rights violations with UN human rights our bodies and mechanisms,” they added.

Parvez in January gained the Martin Ennals Award, one of many world’s most prestigious human rights prizes, together with two different campaigners from Chad and Venezuela.