A court in the disputed area granted release to an award-winning journalist in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) on Wednesday, allowing him to return home after spending more than five years behind bars in connection with an ongoing terrorism prosecution.
August 2018 saw the first arrest of Aasif Sultan, a reporter for a now-closed magazine, on charges of “harbouring known militants”.
He was accused of taking part in a jail riot, which led to the filing of further accusations against him under the strict Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
In February, Sultan was momentarily released on bond but was taken into custody again two days later on new charges under the statute. According to a family member and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Sultan was freed earlier this week.
“He went back home today, but he has very strict bail requirements. The relative, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, told AFP that “he is practically banned from talking to anyone outside the family.”
On the social networking platform X, Kunal Majumder from CPJ announced that Sultan had been granted bail on Tuesday.
According to a Friday court document seen by AFP, Sultan was granted bail under stringent guidelines, stating that his incarceration “did not serve any purpose.”
Sultan was prohibited from using encrypted communication apps like WhatsApp, leaving his phone unattended, and traveling outside of IIOJK.
Over 500,000 Indian soldiers are stationed there to combat an ongoing insurgency by rebel factions calling for the independence of the Indian Ocean Islands or the merging of the IIOJK with Pakistan.
Tens of thousands of people have died as a result of the war, primarily civilians.
Pakistan is accused by India of supporting the rebels; Islamabad refutes this claim.
Kashmiri journalists claim that since the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ended the region’s minimal autonomy and enforced a severe security crackdown in 2019, the independent media has suffered.
Authorities have closed the independent Kashmir Press Club and arrested media personnel under anti-terrorism laws or called them in for questioning for their work on multiple occasions.
A well-known local Kashmiri correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor daily, located in the US, was granted bail by a court in November of last year, two years after he was accused of “spreading fake news” and charged with “glorifying terrorism” in the disputed territory.
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