Kashmiri Journalist Fahad Shah Released After Nearly Two Years In Jail
Kashmiri journalist Fahad Shah, who was in jail facing terrorism charges, released on Thursday after spending nearly two years in jail. He was released from Kot Balwal jail in Jammu after the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir struck down his incarceration.
Founder editor of The Kashmir Walla, Fahad Shah was arrested by the State Investigation Agency of Jammu & Kashmir Police on terrorism charges for publishing the article, ‘The shackles of slavery will break’, in his independent news outlet in 2011. Earlier this year, the outlet was also banned under the provisions of the Information Technology Act.
A division bench of the high court stated that bringing up terrorism charges against Fahad Shah for an 11-year-old article “collide(s) head long with the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression enshrined in Article 19 of the Constitution,” reports The Wire.
The high court canceled the charges under Sections 18 (terror conspiracy) and 121 (waging war against the country) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and 153-B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration) of the Indian Penal Code against Fahad Shah.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on social media platform X, acknowledged the released of Fahas Shah and also requested the authorities to retract the ban on The Kashmir Walla.
Kashmiri journalist Fahad Shah has returned home Thursday after nearly two years in detention on terror charges
CPJ welcomes his release on bail. All charges against Shah must be dropped and the ban on his publication The Kashmir Walla @tkwmag revoked https://t.co/eCjFpf1SRd pic.twitter.com/X7NtyiTNnY
— CPJ Asia (@CPJAsia) November 23, 2023
