Following the arrest of Kashmiri journalist Irfan Mehraj under charges of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), several journalists' bodies have decried the action.
The Editors Guild of India (EGI), in a statement, said, “EGI is deeply concerned about the excessive use of UAPA against journalists, most recently, in the case of the arrest of Irfan Mehraj, a Kashmir-based journalist, by the NIA. The Guild urges the state administration to respect democratic values."
Details on the arrest: Mehraj's arrest on Monday, 20 March, is the first arrest in the ‘NGO-terror funding case; according to the NIA.
Kashmir human rights activist Khurram Parvez, who has been languishing in prison since November 2021, is also an accused in the same case.
NIA, in a tweet on Tuesday, 21 March, claimed that the arrest was because of Mehraj's collaboration with the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), an organisation directed by Parvez.
Is this a pattern? EGI said that Mehraj's arrest reflects a trend of security forces arresting Kashmiri journalists critical of the establishment.
“These include journalists Aasif Sultan, Sajad Gul, and Fahad Shah. The space for media freedom has progressively eroded in Kashmir,” it added.