Indian-occupied Kashmir: How journalists face harassment and threats of violence while reporting

[Abdullah719]

By restricting journalists’ access to the outside world and harassing them on the streets, the Indian government is effectively stifling reports of unrest in Kashmir following its decision to revoke the region’s autonomy, reporters, editors and rights groups say.

This week, the Supreme Court in Delhi ordered the government to respond to a petition by the editor of the Kashmir Times newspaper, demanding an end to the communications blockade that has been in place since 4 August.

In Srinagar, the Kashmiri summer capital, journalists described how they are forced to use motorbikes and back streets to avoid the maze of barbed wire and police blockades that have blighted the city’s road network since the Modi administration declared its move to strike down Article 370 of the Constitution, which gave Kashmir the right to make its own laws.

Without access to the internet, mobile networks or landline phones, hundreds of reporters in the Valley have been forced to share a government-run “media facilitation centre” with just five desktop computers, two of which are reserved for women.

Others, assuming use of the computers is being monitored, said they had stocked up on USB sticks and external hard drives to store mostly photo and video footage of protests and send out their data via friends travelling to different parts of India.

But if getting the story out is hard enough, it is while physically attending the protests that journalists find themselves in the most trouble.

In the days leading up to 23 August, pamphlets were circulated by protest leaders setting out a date, time and location where Kashmiris upset by the loss of their autonomy where asked to gather, in Anchar Soura, an area in Srinagar.

Some journalists managed to attend, but a number of them told The Independent they were stopped at a checkpoint after leaving, stripped of their identity documents and briefly detained.

Xuhaib Maqbool, a photojournalist who has worked in Kashmir for the last seven years, is living proof that journalists face the threat of physical force from the police – and that this danger is not necessarily a new one.

Xuhaib is blind in the left eye from an incident on 4 September 2016, when a policeman opened fire on him with a shotgun full of pellets – a “non-lethal” crowd control tool that has led to tens of thousands of injuries in the decades of separatist unrest in the region.

He believes the situation for journalists in Kashmir is more dangerous and life-threatening now than at any point in recent years.

Xuhaib says he was stopped by the Indian paramilitary forces on 17 August, during a protest which broke out after the death of a civilian, Ayoub Khan, amid clashes where the forces had fired tear gas.

He says the security forces refused to let Xuhaib and other accredited journalists take photographs documenting the protest, or even to stay and report it. “After many requests and pleading for half an hour, the policeman eventually told us to go, saying ‘Chal nikal, agar idhar photo kheencha to haddiyan tod dunga’ (go, if you click any photographs here I’ll break your bones),” recalls Xuhaib.

Police threats of violence towards journalists are a common theme in many accounts of what life is like reporting from behind the communications blockade.

In an incident the day after the government’s 5 August announcement, a reporter for The Independent and a photographer were attempting to document the new restrictions when they came across an army checkpoint with an armoured vehicle – and an old TV, being used to control traffic.

As they attempted to photograph the unusual scene, a group of policemen hauled the reporter out of his car, pulled his beard and forced him to unlock his phone and delete the photos.

Fearing for his life, this reporter did so, but was later able to recover the images from a “recently deleted” file. As the police returned the journalists’ identity cards, one officer threatened: “I have all your details. If you use any [of these] pictures, I will kill you.”

Shahana Butt, a senior TV journalist working in the region for Press TV, told The Independent she had never before worked in such difficult conditions.

“For the first 10 days, I had no idea where to go,” she said. “I have not seen such a situation in my 11 years as a journalist. The communication blackout has given open space for rumour-mongering. Detours and checkpoints hamper journalists from reaching events which need timely attention,” she said.

Kashmir Times editor Anuradha Bhasin, who filed the Supreme Court petition, said the restrictions on local journalists meant the media coverage of the crisis was skewed overwhelmingly in favour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

“The government has its own publicity department, but over and above that, you have these big moneyed television channels, you have certain sections of print media who are virtually working as extensions of the government publicity department,” she told The Associated Press on Thursday. “They are giving a one-sided picture.”

Amnesty International has said the communications ban denies the Kashmiri people’s right to freedom of expression, and on Wednesday the regional director for Human Rights Watch, Meenakshi Ganguly, said the restrictions “should be lifted immediately”.

India applies its internet shutdowns using a British colonial-era law from 1885 stating that it is “in the interest of public safety and for maintaining public order”.

It uses such measures more regularly than any other country in the world, according to the US nonprofit Freedom House. And of the 340 internet shutdowns since Mr Modi came to power in 2014, more than half have been based in Kashmir, including 55 this year.

The shutdowns have a compounding effect, said Sundar Krishnan, executive director of the Delhi-based Software Freedom Legal Centre – disrupting businesses and schools and demoralising the public.

“It’s obstructing the free flow of information, but it’s also bringing many elements of a modern society to a grinding halt,” he said.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...olence-harassment-press-freedom-a9083991.html

 

[Abdullah719]

Help us find our jailed editor, Kashmir news website appeals

News website The Kashmiriyat on Tuesday sought help to find its editor Qazi Shibli, who was arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir Police on July 25. Shibli was reportedly detained in connection with his tweets leaking details about impending troop movements in the state last month.

On July 27, the Centre had decided to deploy 100 additional companies of paramilitary forces in the state. Less than a week later, the government decided to deploy 25,000 more paramilitary personnel to Jammu and Kashmir, ahead of its move to scrap Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution.

The Kashmiriyat said they had tried to find the reason for Shibli’s detention, but they were given no answer. The police reportedly told Shibli’s family that he would be released by August 5, but there has been no information about him yet. “We know that he has no money on him and he doesn’t have any clothes either,” the website wrote in its appeal. “They don’t even allow us to go inside the police station.”

Shibli’s brother Qazi Umair said he was told he was shifted to Agra police station. “Yesterday I made a call to the Agra police station where the person mentioned that he doesn’t have any information,” Umair said. “Really tensed and worried about the whereabouts and safety of my brother”.

The state has been under an unprecedented lockdown since August 5, when the central government decided to revoke its special status and split it into two union territories. Thousands of troops have been deployed to prevent violence and protests in the region and communication lines have been cut in most parts. The authorities have claimed that the restrictions would be eased gradually. However, protests in the Valley have made it difficult to do so.

https://scroll.in/latest/935374/help-us-find-our-jailed-editor-kashmir-news-website-appeals

 

[PakLFC]

They are not even allowing journalists to observe the place. Burkha Dutt said so yesterday that no one knows what is happening there.

 

[Abdullah719]

'We risk everything': Reporting Kashmir amid lockdown, harassment

Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir - As the crippling lockdown in Indian-administered Kashmir nears a month, journalists in the region complain of harassment by authorities, with many accusing security forces of deleting their camera footage and pressure to report "normalcy".

"This is a unique situation. None of us had seen anything like this in the past. Even in the worst of times in Kashmir, we were able to file our stories," said Muzaffar Raina as he waits to access his email at a Media Facilitation Centre in the main city of Srinagar.

Since the night of August 4, the region's seven million residents have been placed under a curfew and denied telephone and internet access. Raina says the situation is "unprecedented".

The restrictions were imposed to prevent backlash over India's Hindu nationalist government's decision to strip the country's only Muslim-majority state of its limited autonomy, triggering the worst political crisis in the region in more than 70 years.

As the communications blackout made headlines globally, the administration set up a media centre at a private hotel in Srinagar to allow the journalists to work.

The centre has five computers with an internet connection and just one landline phone for hundreds of journalists based in Kashmir as well as the ones who came from outside the region to report.


'Preventing truth from going out'

Raina said the curbs are in place "to prevent the truth from going out".

"For the first few days, I was not able to send anything," he said, adding that a friend working for a television channel then offered to help.

"I would make a video of the text. My friend would use his OB [outdoor broadcasting] van to send the video to his office, where someone would send it to my office in [New] Delhi, where they would type the story," he said.

Peerzada Ashiq, who reports for The Hindu newspaper, also said he could not send his report or contact his office for the first few days, until he mailed his story in a flash drive to New Delhi.

Like Raina, Ashiq also sought a friend's help to send the story through the OB van.

"It was a tedious process, which in itself was news. More time was consumed in sending out the story than in writing it," he said.

Forces accused of harassment

Many journalists complained of being harassed by the security forces patrolling the streets.

S Ahmad, who works as a videographer for an international TV channel, told Al Jazeera that he was forced to delete footage from his camera by the security officers after he recorded a protest in Srinagar.

"I was made to delete my footage at least three times. You give them a proof of the organisation you work for, but the forces don't listen," he said.

Ahmad said a paramilitary trooper told him to film "the normalcy" and not the protests. "They are dictating how we should work.

"We risk everything to tell a story. People trust us with their stories and it is heartbreaking to let them down in such a state."

Ashiq said reporters are being stopped despite having a "movement pass" issued by the authorities.

"They [paramilitary soldiers] told me they have been ordered not to allow anyone. Even with a pass, you are not sure if the next security picket would let you through," he said.

A journalist from south Kashmir's Pulwama district, the hub of Kashmir's rebellion, said he has not filed any story since August 4, the day the latest clampdown started.

"The forces do not allow us to work. People are reluctant to talk because they blame us for not showing the true story," he said on condition of anonymity.

"So I preferred to be locked in my home. Taking out a camera was tough in this situation."

Fear and intimidation

A major problem currently facing Kashmiri journalists is access to information. They are not able to interview government officials via telephone or meet them in their offices.

In such a situation, the reporters said they are forced to rely on the daily press briefings, where officials mostly read from a script and don't take their questions.

Earlier this year, several Kashmiri newspaper editors were questioned by India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) over alleged "terror links", creating fear in the local press.

Journalist Naseer Ganai said pressure from the local authorities has forced the local newspapers to not even publish editorials.

"You don't see any column about the current situation," he told Al Jazeera.

"When two former chief ministers and a number of legislators are under arrest, do you think we will not be afraid?" asked the editor of a local newspaper, who refused to be identified over safety concerns.

"It is a storm. The wise thing is to save the skin."

'Disabling and perilous'

On Wednesday, two local bodies of journalists - the Kashmiri Working Journalists Association (KWJA) and the Kashmir Journalists Association - issued a joint statement to condemn the communications blackout.

"Snapping all means of communications, for people as well as journalists, are recipe for humanitarian disasters, and are not resorted to, even in times of wars on the scale it has been done in Kashmir," the statement read, calling the situation "utterly disabling and perilous".

The statement said there is "harassment and pressure from government agencies" and the local media have been rendered "defunct".

"The local media is avoiding reports about the human rights violations, even skipping reports about local protests, clashes, large-scale arrests and detentions, not daring to question the official propaganda, and sticking to government handouts, even if they fail to make sense on the ground," it said.

Many journalists said it is not the same for journalists from outside Kashmir.

"Many national journalists, some of whom are supported by the Indian government, are able to move freely and meet officials and go anywhere," said a KWJA member on condition of anonymity.

"But curbs are only on us. They are here to alter the narrative and being facilitated to do that."

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019...hmir-lockdown-harassment-190830075931481.html

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Kashmiri journalist Gowhar Geelani has been barred from travelling to Germany by Indian authorities. He says this is an attempt to silence voices from Kashmir <a href="https://t.co/Y86g18GNdu">pic.twitter.com/Y86g18GNdu</a></p>— TRT World (@trtworld) <a href="https://twitter.com/trtworld/status/1168544968471973889?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 2, 2019</a></blockquote>
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[Abdullah719]

Kashmir Press Club in Srinagar says journalists being 'coerced', demands lifting of blockade

The Kashmir Press Club (KPC) in Srinagar on Tuesday expressed serious concern over the “unprecedented communication blockade” in the valley and criticised authorities for allegedly asking some senior journalists to vacate their government accommodation.

The KPC also described the action as “harassment aimed at coercing journalists to toe a particular line”.


Denouncing the curbs imposed on media and journalists, the press club’s executive committee said in a meeting that due to “unprecedented communication blockade” affecting mobile telephony, Internet and telephone landlines, journalists have been “crippled, overwhelmingly disabling them from reporting the ground situation”.

“Since the communication blockade was imposed over the region on August 5, the club took up the issue with government authorities on several occasions, urging them to restore mobile phones, Internet and telephone landlines to journalists and media outlets, including newspapers, and also the club itself,” it said.

“But all these efforts have proved to be futile as these services have not been restored to journalists till date,” the KPC said in a statement.

It said currently, hundreds of journalists – both local and visiting and media workers – are forced to wait in queues for their turn to file assignments at the makeshift media facilitation centre here.

“The centre is equipped with only five computers and a low speed Internet connection,” the statement said.

Despite repeated reminders by the press club, the directorate of information and public relations has not made any attempt to enhance services including open access to WiFi for journalists at the centre until the internet and telephone facilities are restored in the Valley, the KPC claimed.

“The Kashmir Press Club demands that the government restore internet and telephone facility to journalists and media outlets,” the statement read.

“The executive committee meeting also expressed serious concern over the harassment of Kashmiri journalists and pressure tactics adopted by the government.

“It is noted with concern that at least three senior journalists… were asked by the government to vacate the government accommodations as soon as possible, which is nothing but harassment aimed at coercing journalists to toe a particular line,” it said.

A petition has been filed before Indian Supreme Court against the restrictions imposed on the media by Anuradha Bhasin, the executive editor of Kashmir Times.

This article was originally published on The Wire and has been reproduced with with permission.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1503477/k...sts-being-coerced-demands-lifting-of-blockade

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Day 34: I have come back from Srinagar and I think yesterday was probably the hardest day for journalists in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Kashmir?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Kashmir</a> since the lockdown. A CRPF personnel told me “keep this press card in your a** and turn around.”</p>— Ahmer Khan (@ahmermkhan) <a href="https://twitter.com/ahmermkhan/status/1170919124870062080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 9, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Over seven hundred comments and countless retweet’s of rampant abuse, hate and trolling against Kashmiris. <a href="https://t.co/WDGuHb4Smc">https://t.co/WDGuHb4Smc</a></p>— Ahmer Khan (@ahmermkhan) <a href="https://twitter.com/ahmermkhan/status/1171074464118796289?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 9, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Abdullah719]

Day of ‘hell’ for journalist in Srinagar

Awoman journalist working for a national daily was abused and bullied by baton-wielding policemen in the heart of Srinagar city on Sunday, the incident outraging the Valley’s journalists as much as deepening their sense of helplessness.

Rifat Mohidin, correspondent for Chandigarh-based The Tribune, said around half-a-dozen policemen had rained their batons on her car “for several minutes” as she sat inside, crying through the “hell” — all for having dared tell them not to be rude to her.

“I had never before heard the kind of abuses they hurled at me. They battered my car with their batons, although the windows were spared. I started crying but none dared come to my rescue,” Rifat told The Telegraph.

“I’m still in shock. I have already had a tough time convincing my family that I was safe as a journalist even during these times. If I tell them what happened today, they might not allow me to continue.”

Journalists tried to call the police and the information department using the lone cellphone officially allotted to the Valley’s community of reporters at the government media centre, but there was no response. A text message to Srinagar police chief Haseeb Mughal remained answered.

The Valley’s journalists have faced stifling curbs on their movement since the August 5 lockdown — with many yet to receive their “curfew passes” — and have to wait in queues at the media centre to use the only available Internet and mobile facilities. The dozen-odd women reporters in the Valley face the same challenges as their male colleagues.

A woman journalist working for an international television channel said the forces had almost pounced on her when they saw the cameraman accompanying her filming a few shots at Nowhatta in Srinagar’s old quarters recently.

Sunday was perhaps the worst day for the Valley’s journalists, with the administration clamping the tightest restrictions since August 5.

A local editor, Manzoor Zahoor, was whisked away from the city centre, apparently after he argued with the security forces. There was an 80 per cent decline in journalists’ presence at the media centre.

Rifat said she was stopped at 15 places along the 3km stretch from her home in Rajbagh to the media centre.

“At Jahangir Chowk, the security forces were adamant that I should return. I urged them not to be rude to me. This infuriated them and what followed was hell. For several minutes they kept hitting my car and abused me and my family,” she said.

“I told them I had a curfew pass but they would not listen. I did not know what to do. Eventually, one CRPF man was kind enough to ask me to drive on. I parked my car somewhere and was in tears all the way to the media centre.”

She said some people who had seen her ordeal “said from a distance that it was zulm (an atrocity) but did not dare come close to show solidarity”.

A spokesperson for the Valley’s Women Journalist Association said journalists in the region “often face disrespect and abuses at the hands of government forces”.

“(The association) highly condemns the tactics used by government forces and calls for stern action by the police department. We also call upon the police department to issue a circular (saying) journalists (should) be allowed to perform their job hassle-free.”

The association said a few male journalists had been beaten up at Zadibal on Sunday while covering Muharram processions.

“Scores of journalists have complained of harassment and misbehaviour by government forces. Despite valid ID proof and curfew passes, journalists are not (being) allowed free and smooth movement,” it said.

https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/day-of-hell-for-journalist-in-srinagar/

 

[msaaim89]

[MENTION=134505]rhony[/MENTION]

Fine example of a democracy?

 

[Abdullah719]

Meanwhile Indian journalists can feel the 'air of Kashmir' from planes

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Flying over Kashmir today.. The feeling is so liberating ... The air of Kashmir feels free post the abrogation of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Art370?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Art370</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/35A?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#35A</a>. Thank U <a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@narendramodi</a> ji & <a href="https://twitter.com/AmitShah?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AmitShah</a> ji. <a href="https://t.co/BhRRrNbnR7">pic.twitter.com/BhRRrNbnR7</a></p>— Ashoke Pandit (@ashokepandit) <a href="https://twitter.com/ashokepandit/status/1171101628730138626?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 9, 2019</a></blockquote>
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[Hamza_]

Indians are seriously deluded.

 

[IndianHero]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Baby Asma of 30 months is among the injured in militant attack on fruits merchants in Sopore. She didn't deserve this. We've put in all efforts to get an air ambulance ASAP to take her Delhi for advanced medical attention. Prayers are requested.</p>— Shahid Choudhary (@listenshahid) <a href="https://twitter.com/listenshahid/status/1170210319378989057?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 7, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

A 30-month old baby was a victim of terrorist attack in Sopore, kashmir !

 

[rhony]

[MENTION=134505]rhony[/MENTION]

Fine example of a democracy?

Not sure what the angle is here. Press should be allowed at least now. The first step should be allow government friendly press, then neutrals and slowly everybody. That's standard practice

 

[Abdullah719]

The government has made journalism impossible in Kashmir

Spoiler

The siege imposed by the government since August 5 – the day when the BJP-led government revoked Article 370 and subsequently completely shut down communications in the valley – also brought journalism to a halt in Kashmir. The communications shutdown did not spare mobile phones and broadband, ensuring that journalists in Kashmir could not function at all. Access and press cards became meaningless. Journalists could not even contact each other, leave alone contacting government officials or other sources.

Public service journalism, as we understand it, became impossible. Only the government version of events came to be propagated by news channels in New Delhi. The Twitter handles of a few government departments and police officials also went into overdrive, making uncontested claims like ‘normalcy returns’ amid the continuing information blackout imposed in the valley. The truth was elsewhere: among the besieged people rendered incommunicado for months. The truth still remains unsaid, suppressed, and under siege. But it has a habit of coming out in the end, making its own space.

Fearing reprisals from government agencies, the local press wilted under pressure, imaginary or real, and toed the government line. It repeatedly published what the administration said and claimed. What was left unreported spoke louder than what got covered. Official press releases, published uncritically by local newspapers, were passed off as news reports.

What the administration did, or claimed to have done, to bring ‘normalcy’, got more space in the papers. How the siege affected the lives of seven million people in the valley, and what people thought about it, was missing from even the inside pages of newspapers. There were no stories in the local papers about millions of people who were denied access to critical health care, unable to even call an ambulance, due to the communications shutdown. Instead of holding the government accountable, the local press helped amplify its claims, normalizing the siege.

What was thoroughly and consistently reported by the international press – the aftermath of communications shutdown, the health care crisis, cases of torture, detention of hundreds of young people – was missing from the local press. Editorials and opinion pieces on the prevailing situation in the Valley were also missing. Regular columnists were either denied space or stayed silent to avoid trouble. Instead, opinion pieces published since August 5 in all the prominent Kashmir dailies covered everything under the sun – climate change, Kafka, Edward Said, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, even Botox therapy – but not the humanitarian crisis in the valley.

The independent journalists who remained in Kashmir managed to send out occasional reports despite the communications shutdown. Some sent their stories in pen drives to Delhi and elsewhere, in the initial weeks of the lockdown. However, they too were ultimately forced to rely on a makeshift, overcrowded ‘media facilitation centre’ set up by the government days after August 5 where they could get limited internet access. The journalists had no option but to rely on the centre, despite the increased surveillance and possibly compromised privacy.

The alternative was to move out of the state – drastic as that seems – just to use the internet and email. The idea of the media centre was best described by a placard held by a young Kashmiri journalist in Srinagar’s press club last month, during a protest march against press censorship and communications shutdown jointly organized by 11 local journalists' groups: "Release us from sub-jail called ‘Media Facilitation Centre’".

The state's relationship with the local press in Kashmir is similar to its relationship with the people in Kashmir: the exercise of the power over the powerless. The state does not want the local press to reflect how it treats the people. It likes to read only its version of the truth in the local press, which doesn’t necessarily reflect the lived experiences of the people. Publications that don’t oblige can expect punishment, including the denial of all government ads, and summons by investigation agencies.

The United Nations has declared internet access a human right, but in Kashmir the denial of that right is not a new thing. In the eight years since 2012, a total of 180 internet blockades have been imposed by the government authorities in Jammu and Kashmir. This year alone, there have been 55 internet shutdowns, according to internetshutdowns.in, which tracks internet outages across India.

As I write this, it is three months since the lockdown began. Journalists in Kashmir continue to be deprived of internet access, something they have even in war zones. Kashmir’s only press club also has no internet since August 5, despite multiple representations by journalists to the administration.

We are forced to make daily rounds of a government-established centre just to check and send emails, and do simple Google news searches. Journalism in Kashmir has essentially been reduced to subservience to a government department-enabled internet connection – the only one in the entire valley, where a journalist can get a few minutes of access. The government's control over the flow of information has made journalism nearly impossible in Kashmir, and is a humiliation of Kashmiri journalists.

The government directly controls the only switch that turns on the internet for hundreds of journalists in Kashmir. You never know when they will pull the plug.

https://www.telegraphindia.com/opin...-journalism-impossible-in-kashmir/cid/1715650

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Kashmir?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Kashmir</a J&K Police officials thrash journalists outside Islamia College in Srinagar while they were discharging professional duties. <a href="https://t.co/MFccSJPnvG">pic.twitter.com/MFccSJPnvG</a></p>— Aakash Hassan (@Aakashhassan) <a href="https://twitter.com/Aakashhassan/status/1206874484734476288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Print journalist <a href="https://twitter.com/AzaanJavaid?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AzaanJavaid</a> beaten by police in Srinagar. He had gone to cover a protest at Islamia College in Srinagar. <a href="https://twitter.com/KashmirPolice?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KashmirPolice</a> snatched his phone and thrashed him. <a href="https://twitter.com/HMOIndia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HMOIndia</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/kishanreddybjp?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kishanreddybjp</a></p>— vijaita singh (@vijaita) <a href="https://twitter.com/vijaita/status/1206886440270843909?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Kashmir: Photojournalist charged under UAPA for ‘anti-national’ social media posts reports <a href="https://twitter.com/scroll_in?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@scroll_in</a> <a href="https://t.co/rsji65ZTQe">https://t.co/rsji65ZTQe</a></p>— Ahmer Khan (@ahmermkhan) <a href="https://twitter.com/ahmermkhan/status/1252137182866833411?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Seriously nobody knows whats happening in Kashmir these days. It's been almost a month under this lockdown. I can't even imagine how are Kashmiris living it for the last 8 months. How are they earning money?

 

[Sirris]

Pulwama, Indian-administered Kashmir - Police in Indian-administered Kashmir have booked a female photojournalist under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for indulging in "anti-national activities" on social media.

Masrat Zahra, a 26-year-old photojournalist from the region's main city of Srinagar, is accused of "uploading anti-national posts [on Facebook] with criminal intentions to induce the youth".

A statement by Srinagar's Cyber Police Station on Saturday said it received information through "reliable sources that one Facebook user namely 'Masrat Zahra' is uploading anti-national posts with criminal intention".

"The Facebook user is also believed to be uploading photographs which can provoke the public to disturb law and order. The user is also uploading posts that tantamount to glorify the anti-national activities and dent the image of law enforcing agencies besides causing disaffection against the country," it said.

Police said a first information report (FIR) was filed on Saturday and an investigation is on. She has been summoned before the police on Tuesday.

The UAPA allows the government to proscribe individuals as "terrorists" and empowers the federal National Investigation Agency to probe such cases.

A person charged under the law can be jailed for up to seven years.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Masarat zehra, a professional photojournalist, has honestly told stories of Kashmir in 4-year career. Invoking UAPA is outrageous. In solidarity with our colleague, we demand FIR withdrawn. Journalism isn’t crime. Intimidation/ censorship won’t silence Kashmir’s journalists.</p>— Muzamil Jaleel (@MuzamilJALEEL) <a href="https://twitter.com/MuzamilJALEEL/status/1252153437485056002?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Zahra on Monday told Al Jazeera over the telephone that the police and government are trying to "muzzle the voices of journalists in Kashmir".

"Police has nowhere mentioned that I am a journalist. They have said that I am a Facebook user," she said.

Zahra said she had been charged for posting her already-published works over the years, calling the allegations "shocking".

"I have been sharing my archival images which have already been published in different Indian and international organisations on social media for which I'm being booked," she said.

Zahra's work has appeared in several publications including The Washington Post, The New Humanitarian, TRT World, Al Jazeera, The Caravan and others.

'Gags against media'
Meanwhile, journalists from the region have reacted strongly to the charges against Zahra.

In a statement released on Monday, the Kashmir Press Club condemned the charges against her and other journalists from the region, and demanded intervention by India's Home Minister Amit Shah.

"It is very unfortunate that when the world is in a grip of pandemic and when we need to stand together to combat the COVID-19, police has started filing cases against journalists and harassing them," it said.

"This is unacceptable for journalists of Kashmir who are well within their rights to seek freedom of expression and speech as guaranteed under the constitution like other parts of the country."

Kashmiri journalist Gowhar Geelani told Al Jazeera that "invoking stringent provisions of a draconian law" against Zahra "speaks volumes about the gags against media to silence journalists, to control the narratives by use of force, and to contain the Kashmir story with lawlessness".

Muzamil Jaleel, deputy editor of New Delhi-based The Indian Express newspaper, tweeted that Zahra has "honestly told stories of Kashmir in a four-year career".

"Invoking UAPA is outrageous. In solidarity with our colleague, we demand FIR withdrawn. Journalism isn't crime. Intimidation/censorship won't silence Kashmir's journalists," he posted.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...ional-social-media-posts-200420100952020.html

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

This is the shining and bright India

Fascism and oppression are destined to failure!

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">So wish me good luck bcause it's time to defend my rights as a journalist, Going inside cyber police station.</p>— Masrat Zahra (@Masratzahra) <a href="https://twitter.com/Masratzahra/status/1252534498807480326?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Abdullah719]

3 days ago:

<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B_FihDDFvFm/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); widthlc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B_FihDDFvFm/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decorationne; width:100%;" target="_blank"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-stylermal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;"> View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div></a> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B_FihDDFvFm/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-stylermal; font-weightrmal; line-height:17px; text-decorationne; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Arifa Jan suffers frequent panic attacks nearly 2 decades after her husband was gunned down in a fake encounter by Indian army in 2000,she can still hear the gunshots and sees her husband’s blood-soaked body when she thinks of him,“There were 18 bullet holes and I still remember how deep they were." #Kashmir #masratzahra</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-spacewrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/masrat_zahra/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-stylermal; font-weightrmal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Masrat Zahra</a> (@masrat_zahra) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2020-04-17T1553+00:00">Apr 17, 2020 at 8:11am PDT</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B_HdpJOFQCw/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); widthlc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B_HdpJOFQCw/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decorationne; width:100%;" target="_blank"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-stylermal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;"> View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div></a> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B_HdpJOFQCw/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-stylermal; font-weightrmal; line-height:17px; text-decorationne; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Arifa Jan keeps newspaper clippings and the blood-stained notes of her husband, Abdul Qadir Sheikh, was carrying when he was gunned down by Indian army suspected being a militant.“I couldn’t come to terms with the agony and pain inflicted on me," she said. #KashmirBleeds #masratzahra</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-spacewrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/masrat_zahra/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-stylermal; font-weightrmal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Masrat Zahra</a> (@masrat_zahra) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2020-04-18T09:07:47+00:00">Apr 18, 2020 at 2:07am PDT</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>

 

[Sirris]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I met the concerned police officials of the case and answered their questions regarding the investigation, I have not been arrested and the investigation is going. Thanks all for the support.</p>— Masrat Zahra (@Masratzahra) <a href="https://twitter.com/Masratzahra/status/1252572280506519555?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Seems to be going fairly transparent so far.

No "disappearances" as sometimes sadly happens in Pakistan.

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Police have now booked Kashmiri journalist <a href="https://twitter.com/GowharGeelani?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GowharGeelani</a> for reportedly posting “anti-national” and “glorifying terrorism” content on social media. <br><br>This is the third journalist booked by the J&K police in the past 48 hours in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Kashmir?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Kashmir</a>.</p>— Ahmer Khan (@ahmermkhan) <a href="https://twitter.com/ahmermkhan/status/1252630715012755457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[msaaim89]

[MENTION=137142]JaDed[/MENTION]

What is going on?

 

[Sirris]

I hope India's prestigious Cyber police is monitoring this guy and consider this post of his to be "anti-national" and "with criminal intentions to induce the youth". His post so far has been shared 40k times and liked by 30k similar minded individuals.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This man is the district chief of the VHP, a wing of the RSS, and has urged Hindus to start a war against Muslims. He lives in UP state and no action has been taken against him at all, despite bringing it to <a href="https://twitter.com/Uppolice?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Uppolice</a>'s notice <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Islamophobia_In_India?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Islamophobia_In_India</a> <a href="https://t.co/bB558jlmKa">https://t.co/bB558jlmKa</a></p>— Yeh Log ! (@yehlog) <a href="https://twitter.com/yehlog/status/1252705987057709056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

भगवा देख कर मारने वालो जिस दिन टोपी_देखकर मारना चालू किया ना ,उस दिन छिपने के लिए बुर्का भी कम पड़ जाएगा
#जिहादी_आतंक
जिला सुरक्षा प्रमुख विश्व हिंदू परिषद लखनऊ दक्षिणा

Google translate:
Those who see saffron and kill it, on the day of hatching, do not start the burqa, on that day the burqa will be reduced to hide.
# Jihadi_Atank
District Security Chief Vishwa Hindu Parishad Lucknow Dakshina

On a side not, he seems not too happy with the practice of Hindu's lighting candles all the time.

 

[MenInG]

Pulwama, Indian-administered Kashmir - Media watchdogs and rights groups have called police charges against journalists in Indian-administered Kashmir a "brazen attack" on freedom of expression.

"Masrat Zahra, Peerzada Ashiq and Gowhar Geelani should be free to report on events in Jammu and Kashmir without facing harassment and intimidation from local authorities," Aliya Iftikhar, a senior Asia researcher with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), told Al Jazeera on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, 38-year-old Geelani, a journalist and author of Kashmir: Rage and Reason, was charged by police with "indulging in unlawful activities through his posts and writings on social media".

The action against Geelani came two days after Ashiq, a reporter for The Hindu newspaper, was charged with filing a "factually incorrect" news story which the police said "could cause fear or alarm in the minds of the public".

On Saturday, photojournalist Zahra, 26, was charged under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act over "anti-national" social media posts.

The cases against the three Kashmiri journalists have been described as a "misuse of power" with an aim to "strike terror" into the disputed region's media community.

"Police should drop their investigations into the journalists, and India should reform its laws to make such capricious actions by police impossible," said Iftikhar.

Activist Khurram Parvez of the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society told Al Jazeera on Wednesday that the cases against the journalists were "a brazen attack on the right to freedom of expression".

"Despite claims by the government that everything is getting better in Kashmir, its conduct continues to be regressive and the space for civil, political and human rights is being further choked," he said.

Police allegations

In a statement on Tuesday evening, the Jammu and Kashmir police's cyber station in the main city of Srinagar said they received information from their sources that Geelani's "writings on social media platform [were] prejudicial to the national integrity, sovereignty and security of India".

"The unlawful activities include glorifying terrorism in Kashmir Valley, causing disaffection against the country and causing fear or alarm in the minds of public that may lead to commission of offences against public tranquility and the security of state," the statement said.

Tahir Ashraf, a senior official at the cyber wing of Jammu and Kashmir Police, refused to speak on the First Information Reports (FIRs) filed against the journalists, saying the Inspector General of Police (IGP) in Kashmir was "the right person to comment".

When Al Jazeera telephoned the IGP Vijay Kumar, he said, "I am busy and can't talk."

Meanwhile, Geelani termed the charges against him as "concocted and baseless".

"The aim is to silence all the remaining critical and sane voices and to criminalise opinions and journalism in Kashmir," he told Al Jazeera. "Intimidating tactics from any quarter won't cow me down. I will continue doing my job with sound professional judgement."

Geelani said his job as a journalist is to write for the "marginalised and the dispossessed".

"Memory will win. Words are a writer's weapons. All I have is words. Let me assure one and all that journalism and words will stay and survive, censorship won't."

In case of Ashiq, the police said his report in The Hindu - titled 'Kin allowed to exhume bodies of militants in Baramulla' - on April 19 was "fake news".

"The news was published without seeking confirmation from the district authorities," said a statement released by the police, which called him for questioning in two police stations on Sunday.

Photojournalist Zahra is accused of "uploading photographs which can provoke the public to disturb law and order" ... "tantamount to glorify anti-national activities". She presented herself before the police on Tuesday for questioning.

Continued 'harassment and intimidation'

Expressing shock over the cases against Ashiq and Zahra, the Editors Guild of India in a statement said, "Any recourse to such laws for merely publishing something in the mainstream or social media is a gross misuse of power. Its only purpose can be to strike terror into journalists."

Avinash Kumar of the rights group Amnesty International India told Al Jazeera on Wednesday that the "continued harassment and intimidation of journalists and writers ... threatens the freedom of media to report impartially and accurately".

"The recent charges against at least three journalists in Kashmir demonstrate a pattern of suppressing free media," he said.

Ishfaq Tantry of the Kashmir Press Club told Al Jazeera that the police were "acting on anonymous complaints quoting sources to hound the journalists".

"This is blatant misuse of the law to stifle and gag media in Kashmir," he said, demanding that the FIRs against the three journalists be withdrawn.

"No ifs, no buts, no whataboutery - this campaign of FIRs against journalists & commentators in Kashmir IS WRONG & must stop," tweeted former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...lice-probing-journalists-200422085303518.html

 

[MenInG]

Denying interim relief to journalist and author Gowhar Geelani, booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), the J&K High Court on Friday issued a notice to the Union Territory government and listed the case for May 20.

Geelani, who was booked by the J-K Police under the anti-terror law for his social media posts, had filed a petition in the court challenging the jurisdiction of the Cyber Police Station in filing of the FIR, interim protection from arrest and quashing of the FIR. Geelani and a freelance photojournalist were booked for their social media posts which the police termed as “seditious, incendiary, and incriminating.”

The case came up for hearing earlier in the day through video conferencing before Justice Ali Mohammad Magray. In his petition, Geelani’s counsel Salih Peerzada challenged the jurisdiction of the Cyber Police Station to file FIR against Geelani.

“Cyber Police Station, Kashmir Zone has no jurisdiction to register and investigate the case relating to offences falling under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 and Indian Penal Code, as the concerned Police Station has been declared as Police Station for the purpose of registration and investigation of the case(s) regarding the offences falling under provisions of Information Technology, Act, 2000 and other allied offences…,” Peerzada argued in the court.

Responding to Peerzada’s arguments, Senior Additional Advocate General B A Dar informed the court that the case against Geelani has been shifted out of the Cyber Police Station.

“Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, transferred the case to Police Station, Sadder, for investigation in terms of order dated 22.04.2020, therefore, the jurisdiction aspect of the matter is not available to the petitioner to seek quashing of the FIR, which otherwise also, cannot be a ground for quashing of FIR,” government counsel Dar argued.

While the court didn’t provide any relief to Geelani, it listed the case again for May 20 and issued notices to the respondents.

In his petition, Geelani’s counsel Peerzada has argued that mere expression of opinion of political or apolitical in nature on a public forum doesn’t ipso facto constitute an offence. Even as the J-K Police is silent on the sections invoked against Geelani, the petition said that he has been booked under section 13 of Unlawful Activities Prevention ACT (UAPA) and section 505 of Indian Penal Code.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Geelani said that all the charges against him are baseless. “I have always condemned all forms of violence through social media,” the journalist said.

In fact, Geelani was one of the first journalists in the valley to voice his opinion about young boys joining militantcy.

“Kashmir is fast losing its precious human resource, the young boys in teens. And we can’t afford to normalize this colossal human tragedy. Mourning can’t be our permanent politics. Funerals of our young can’t be our political events. This tragedy is the outcome of the absence of meaningful sincere and clean politics,” he had tweeted last year.

On Thursday, the Press Council of India condemned the FIR on Geelani: “Every citizen of this country including a journalist has the right to express their opinion which may not be palatable to many but this doesn’t give anybody the authority to strangulate such voice”.

Reacting to the court judgment in Geelani’s petition, former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti tweeted from her handle run by her daughter Iltija Mufti. “No interim relief for @GowharGeelani. Couldn’t be a starker contrast between SC decision on Arnab Goswami & JK High Court’s ruling. Where should people seek justice if even judiciary is seized by national & anti national narrative?”

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/kashmir-journalist-gowhar-geelani-uapa-high-court-6377626/

 

[Abdullah719]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mDpY45veWss" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Just saw this video. Sad.

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">My heart broke while writing this update and story for The Kashmiriyat. Because, this isn’t just a story or an update. It is about a colleague, a friend and a mentor who I am fortunate enough to learn from.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JournalismIsNotACrime?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JournalismIsNotACrime</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeStandWithQaziShibli?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeStandWithQaziShibli</a><a href="https://t.co/l7CHQl7Cbv">https://t.co/l7CHQl7Cbv</a></p>— banihalech (@banihalech) <a href="https://twitter.com/banihalech/status/1289243837555077120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 31, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here is what happened with me at Cargo center in Srinagar. I fear for my life now and if anything happens to me they will be responsible. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/sos?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#sos</a><a href="https://twitter.com/UNGeneva?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@UNGeneva</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/observatoryihr?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@observatoryihr</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/svaradarajan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@svaradarajan</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/shammybaweja?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@shammybaweja</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CPJAsia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CPJAsia</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/pressfreedom?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@pressfreedom</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/RSF_inter?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RSF_inter</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/antonioguterres?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@antonioguterres</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/scroll_in?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@scroll_in</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/IndianExpress?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IndianExpress</a> <a href="https://t.co/DiBtklifOj">https://t.co/DiBtklifOj</a></p>— Auqib Javeed (@AuqibJaveed) <a href="https://twitter.com/AuqibJaveed/status/1307976781165592578?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 21, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Kashmir?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Kashmir</a A Kashmiri journalist for <a href="https://twitter.com/IndiaToday?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IndiaToday</a> asks <a href="https://twitter.com/crpfindia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@crpfindia</a> a question after grenade attack today — and he slaps the journalist/ Mic like one of those Bollywood villains. Spare a thought for Kashmiris who’ve to live under such ‘officers’ in uniform. <a href="https://t.co/9iD3SKVtRS">pic.twitter.com/9iD3SKVtRS</a></p>— Kashmir Intel (@kashmirosint) <a href="https://twitter.com/kashmirosint/status/1339616959277613058?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[El Generico]

^ If they treat a journalist with cameras like this then who knows what an average Kashmiri goes through. I thought members of armed forces were suppose to be disciplined, why do these guys act like uncouth thugs?

 

[Madplayer]

^ If they treat a journalist with cameras like this then who knows what an average Kashmiri goes through. I thought members of armed forces were suppose to be disciplined, why do these guys act like uncouth thugs?

This is the most polite Indian armyman in Kashmir.