'Space for media freedom has progressively eroded in Kashmir': Editors Guild on arrest of journalist Irfan Mehraj

The Editors Guild of India on Wednesday said that the ldquospace for media freedom has progressively eroded in KashmirrdquoThe Guild has expressed ldquodeep concernrdquo about the ldquoexcessive userdquo of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act UAPA against journalists most recently in the case of the arrest of Irfan Mehraj a Kashmirbased journalist by the National Investigation Agency NIAIn a statement the Guild said that on the afternoon of March 20 Irfan was called by an investigator on his mobile phone and told to come for a few minutes to the local NIA office in Srinagar Thereafter he was arrested and subsequently shifted to DelhildquoIrfan has been booked under the draconian UAPA According to the NIA Irfan was previously summoned to Delhi in a case related to NGO terror funding and he cooperatedrdquoThe Guild said that the NIA in its press note claimed he was a close associate of the Kashmiri human rights defender Khurram ParvezIrfan started his career as a journalist in 2015 and covered politics and human rights extensively He has written for several publications about the situation in Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370He also runs an online publication called Wande MagazineldquoIrfan Mehrajs arrest continues a trend in Kashmir of security forces arresting journalists because of their critical reporting of the establishment These include journalists Aasif Sultan Sajad Gul and Fahad ShahrdquoThe Guild urged the state administration to respect democratic values and stop the ldquoharassment of journalistsrdquo in the name of national securityAlso readAmnesty International calls for immediate release of journalist Irfan MehrajSeveral other media bodies and organisations have condemned the arrest of Mehraj by the National Investigation AgencyOn Tuesday the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders Mary Lawlor expressed concern at Irfanrsquos arrest and called for his immediate releaseLawlor tweeted ldquoIm deeply concerned about Kashmiri HRD and journalist IrfanMeraj He was called to come to the NIA_India office in Srinagar and arrested in a 2020 case accused of serious offences I call for his immediate releaserdquoEarlier a top press body in India Press Club of India and a Kashmir based journalist network Journalist Federation of Kashmir also demanded immediate release of MehrajThe Press Club said that it opposes the ldquoimposing of UAPA on mediapersonsrdquo and the ldquomisuse of this draconian law by NIA in randomly arresting Irfan Mehrajrdquo It said that Mehrajrsquos arrest ldquoominously points towards a violation of freedom of speech and expressionrdquoldquoWe vehemently oppose the imposing of UAPA on mediapersons The misuse of this draconian law by NIA in randomly arresting Irfan Mehraj a journalist from Kashmir ominously points towards a violation of freedom of speech and expression We demand his immediate release SICrdquo the Press Club TweetedMehraj is a regular contributor to several local national and international platforms including the international broadcasters Deutsche Welle DW Al Jazeera and TRT His work has also appeared in The Caravan Himal Magazine Brighter Kashmir and Rising KashmirMeanwhile the Journalist Federation of Kashmir a journalist network based in Kashmir advocating for press freedom also condemned Mehrajrsquos arrest and said that the arrest ldquoseems to be another tactic of intimidating journalists in Kashmir who have always worked under perilous conditions holding up values of press freedom in the face of dangers to life and libertyrdquoThe press body in a thread of tweets said ldquoThis is not the first time journalists from Kashmir have been arrestedharassedquestioned Summons for questioning and denial of their fundamental right to travel for professional academic and personal reasons is part of the tacticrdquoJournalist Federation of Kashmir condemns the arrest of a prominent journalist Irfan Mehraj on March 20 2023 by the National Investigation Agency NIAMehraj was arrested in Srinagar and then shifted to New DelhiPertinently three journalists from Kashmir Asif Sultan Sajad Gul and Fahad Shah are in jailJFK said that it ldquostrongly condemns the pattern of intimidation and views it as continued attacks on freedom of press in KashmirrdquoldquoFor a vibrant press to flourish in a society authorities have to move beyond hollow claims of respect for press freedom and work towards a conducive environment where a journalist can report the facts on ground express opinion on social media without fear threat of arrestrdquo it said