Kashmir Journalist Fahad Shah detained under the Public Safety Act was shifted to Jammu and his custody was handed over to the State Investigation Agency (SIA) for questioning in a case.
According to reports, Fahad’s custody was taken over by the Kupwara jail authorities for the investigation into the FIR number 01/2022 registered by the SIA at the Joint Interrogation Centre, in Jammu, against an op-ed written by Abdul Aala Fazili in 2011.
This is the fifth time Shah has been arrested consequently since 4 February 2022, or in the last 108 days.
According to Kashmir walla, Fahad was detained in the case in which Aala Fazili has already been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) sections 13 and 18 and sections 120B, 121, 124, and 153B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). “Unnamed editor” of The Kashmir Walla and associates have been booked under sections 13 and 18 of the UAPA and section 120B of the IPC.
Shah was initially arrested by the Pulwama police on 4 February, under sedition and anti-terror law. On 26 February, he was granted bail by an NIA court in Srinagar. However, he was immediately re-arrested by the Shopian police in a case registered against the reporting in January 2021. On 5 March, he was granted bail in the case– but he was subsequently re-arrested again by the Srinagar police dating back to July 2020. A day before the bail hearing in this case, on 14 March, Shah was detained under the PSA and was lodged in the Kupwara Jail.
In a statement, The Kashmir walla has saidm “For the team at The Kashmir Walla, it is yet another hard blow as we remain concerned about the health and wellbeing of Shah in the JIC in Jammu. We reiterate our appeal to Manoj Sinha-led Jammu and Kashmir administration to drop all the charges against Shah and The Kashmir Walla’s journalistic work and facilitate his immediate release.”