[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” min_height=”122px” custom_padding=”0px||0px|||” border_style_all=”none” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” border_width_bottom=”5px” border_style_bottom=”solid” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”12px||8px|||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/samsn.ifj.org\/SAPFR23-24\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Aasif-Sultan-Resized-scaled.jpg” title_text=”Aasif Sultan – Resized” _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Actor||||||||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Jailed journalist Aasif Sultan is brought into custody outside a Srinagar court in 2018 for reporting on slain Kashmiri militant Burhan Wani. Sultan, charged in February 2024 under the widely criticised Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for his alleged role in a 2019 prison disturbance, is currently awaiting the outcome of a bail application. Credit: X<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_4,1_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” min_height=”689px” custom_margin=”38px|auto|12px|auto|false|false” custom_padding=”10px||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”3_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” min_height=”680px” custom_margin=”||0px|||” custom_padding=”3px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n After travelling through the dusty plains and steep mountain roads for two days, Aasif Sultan arrived home from jail on the afternoon of February 29, 2024. The incarcerated journalist walked out of jail after spending over 2000 days in different prisons in Jammu and Kashmir and in Uttar Pradesh, about 1540 km from his home in Batamaloo, Srinagar on February 27, 2024. But his freedom was short-lived. After spending just five hours at home, the authorities summoned Aasif to a police station, where he was re-arrested.<\/p>\n Aasif\u2019s latest arrest under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) is related to an incident of rioting on April 4, 2019 in Srinagar\u2019s central jail where he was lodged at the time. The 36-year-old journalist was arrested on August 31, 2018, on charges of being an overground worker of militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen and harbouring and aiding militants.<\/p>\n A mass communication and journalism graduate from Kashmir University\u2019s media and education research centre in 2011, Aasif was working as assistant editor for monthly English publication Kashmir Narrator<\/em> at the time of his arrest. The now defunct magazine carried his cover story headlined \u2018Rise of Burhan\u2019 which his former colleagues allege is the main reason for targeting him, a charge denied by the authorities. In the 4,000-word story published in June 2018, he wrote about the young Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani with interviews of overground workers (those who provide logistic support to militants) and others.\u00a0 The most-wanted militant commander\u2019s killing triggered months of protests which were met with force leading to the death of 90 civilians and injuries to over 12,000 with over 1000 people including young girls losing eyesight due to injuries from pellet guns fired by the security forces.<\/p>\n Securing bail under the UAPA is extremely tough with the Supreme Court of India holding that bail is an exception and jail is the rule in a case under this anti-terror law. Aasif Sultan\u2019s bail order issued by the special judge for the National Investigation Agency on April 5, 2022, noted that there are stringent conditions for bail under sub-section (5) of section 43-D of UAPA. \u201cBut in the present case after perusing the material available on record including the statements of prosecution witnesses recorded before this court it has not been proved beyond reasonable doubts that the applicant\/ accused was involved in the commission of offences as alleged in the chargesheet,\u201d it said. \u201cThere is neither any direct evidence nor any substantial evidence on the record which would have connected the accused\/applicant herein with the alleged crime, so in the absence of ocular as well as substantial evidence on the record the grounds taken by the learned counsel for the accused\/applicant herein carries weight.\u201d<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_blurb admin_label=”Blurb” _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-4px||55px|-25px||” animation_style=”fade” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_blurb][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_4,1_4″ _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”12px||8px|||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”3_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/samsn.ifj.org\/SAPFR23-24\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Aasif-Sultan-1.png” title_text=”Aasif Sultan” _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_4,1_4″ _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” min_height=”689px” custom_margin=”38px|auto|12px|auto|false|false” custom_padding=”10px||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”3_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” min_height=”680px” custom_margin=”||0px|||” custom_padding=”3px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n The PSA dossier accused Aasif of working for militant organisations and \u201cpropagating stories which are against the interest and security of the Nation.\u201d The police chargesheet accused him of \u201cfollowing a selective and particular pattern of disseminating anti-India sentiment in a very subtle manner mostly though some of the stories are brazenly provocative as well and legitimising and romanticising stone pelters and other instruments of violence. \u201cEach heading of your story highlights the propaganda content you seek to spread,\u201d the dossier said.<\/p>\n The PSA, which Amnesty International termed a \u2018lawless law\u2019 allows detention of a person without trial or charge for up to two years and has been found to be used to secure long-term detention of political activists, critics, suspected members of armed groups and a range of individuals against whom there is insufficient evidence to keep them \u2018out of circulation\u2019.\u00a0 The law was used against politicians, journalists and critics following downgrading the state into two union territories and annulling Article 370, which bestowed semi-autonomous status to Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) in August 2019. The Union Territory of J&K is directly ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the centre.<\/p>\n Since then, a revolving door of laws has been misused to silence media in the region has booked four journalists Fahad Shah, Gowhar Geelani, Manan Gulzar Dar and Irfan Mehraj under UAPA. Besides, three journalists including Fahad Shah, Sajad Gul and Majid Hyderi have been booked under the PSA.\u00a0While Shah was released last year on bail after over 650 days of incarceration, Gul and Hyderi continue to be in jail. Initially, Gul was booked for \u2018criminal conspiracy\u2019 in January 2022 and was granted bail. But before he could walk free, he was booked by the police under PSA. The Jammu and Kashmir High Court invalidated charges pressed against him under PSA in November 2023. But he continues to be in jail as he is facing another case. Likewise, Hyderi who was booked on charges of criminal conspiracy and extortion is in jail since September 2023.<\/p>\n Besides, there have been multiple raids and questioning of journalists at police stations in the last four years. As if this was not enough, threats and posters with names of journalists were circulated on social media by militant outfits to silence them for their own reasons. This pattern of harassment, according to several journalists, has a chilling effect on their work and many have abandoned the profession. Those who continue to pursue journalism prefer to focus on docile issues which do not ruffle feathers of any side. \u201cWe have adopted silence to avoid repercussions,\u201d says a journalist requesting anonymity to avoid reprisal. With over a decade experience reporting from Jammu and Kashmir, he says like him, his colleagues do not want to face harassment and avoid focussing on issues which show the government in bad light. \u201cNone wants to take risks. No story whatsoever is worth one\u2019s life. Asif is a case in point. He and his family\u2019s struggle is on our mind.\u201d<\/p>\n Aasif\u2019s prolonged arrest has earned him global recognition with the American National Press Club awarding him Press Freedom Award in 2019. He also featured in a list of 10 most urgent cases of press freedom in the world prepared by One Press Coalition, a grouping of leading news organisations in the world. In February 2022, 57 press freedom organisations including the International Federation of Journalists and the Committee to Protect Journalists, human rights groups, and publications to call for the immediate release of Sultan and other detained Kashmiri journalists.<\/p>\n Amid this struggle, Aasif\u2019s lawyer has applied for the bail challenging the rioting case pressed against him on March 1, 2024, said his father Mohammad Sultan. Alongside 26 inmates, according to the state\u2019s plea challenging the bail, Aasif and another inmate have been described as the \u201cmain perpetrators\u201d and \u201capparent invokers\u201d in the case. It alleged they played the \u201cmain role\u201d in setting the jail barracks on fire, \u201cassaulting public servants\u201d, \u201cattempted murder\u201d, \u201craising anti-national slogans\u201d, and \u201cspreading toxicity against the national integrity\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n Even as Aasif languishes in jail, his father Mohammad Sultan expects that justice will prevail and that their son will be set free by the court. The 67-year-old and a retired employee of the health services has held onto this belief since the day Aasif was arrested and has been reassuring his family, particularly his six-year-old granddaughter Areeba.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Aasif was taken away after five hours at home, his daughter searched for him. I told her, he has gone to memorise Quran,\u201d he says. But on seeing her father at the police station in Rainawari, Mohammad Sultan recalls Areeba telling him after seeing a pile of files on the table there, \u201cBaba has been given long homework. It will take him time to complete it and return home.\u201d<\/p>\n The wheels of justice turn slowly indeed.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_blurb admin_label=”Blurb” _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-4px||55px|-25px||” animation_style=”fade” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_blurb][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_4,1_4″ _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”12px||8px|||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”3_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/samsn.ifj.org\/SAPFR23-24\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/240306-Asif-Sultan2.jpg” title_text=”240306 Asif Sultan2″ _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Actor||||||||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Aasif Sultan has been imprisoned without trial since 2018, with two separate courts finding his detention under the PSA and UAPA illegal. Sultan has been arrested three times since 2018, with only two days spent outside of jail in February 2024. Credit: Facebook<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”4.25.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" AASIF SULTAN Waiting for Justice Jailed journalist Aasif Sultan is brought into custody outside a Srinagar court in 2018 for reporting on slain Kashmiri militant Burhan Wani. Sultan, charged in February 2024 under the widely criticised Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for his alleged role in a 2019 prison disturbance, is currently awaiting the outcome […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3445","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samsn.ifj.org\/SAPFR23-24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samsn.ifj.org\/SAPFR23-24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samsn.ifj.org\/SAPFR23-24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samsn.ifj.org\/SAPFR23-24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samsn.ifj.org\/SAPFR23-24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3445"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/samsn.ifj.org\/SAPFR23-24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3591,"href":"https:\/\/samsn.ifj.org\/SAPFR23-24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3445\/revisions\/3591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samsn.ifj.org\/SAPFR23-24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}No evidence<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Securing bail under the UAPA is extremely tough with the Supreme Court of India holding that bail is an exception and jail is the rule in a case under this anti-terror law.<\/span><\/h2>\n
Lawless law<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Revolving door<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Holding on to hope<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\u201cNone wants to take risks. No story whatsoever is worth one\u2019s life. Asif is a case in point. He and his family\u2019s struggle is on our mind.\u201d<\/span><\/h2>\n