Srinagar: Fahad Shah, a Kashmiri journalist, on Sunday, completed 500 days of incarceration under draconian charges.
The journalist is currently lodged at Kot Balwal jail of Jammu, nearly 300 kilometers away from his residence, Soura, Srinagar.
Fahad was first arrested on February 4, 2022, after which the police said that Fahad allegedly ‘glorified militancy, spread fake news, and incited people of Jammu and Kashmir’.
The police had also said that three separate First Information Reports (FIRs) were registered against Fahad.
“Fahad Shah is wanted in three cases for glorifying terrorism, spreading fake news and inciting general public for creating law and order situations: FIR No. 70/2020 of PS Safakadal Srinagar, FIR No. 06/2021 of PS Imamsahib, Shopian and FIR No. 19/2022 of PS Pulwama,” the police statement had mentioned.
Fahad was first arrested in FIR No. 19/2022 registered by Pulwama police, for which interim bail was granted by the special court in Srinagar. He was then arrested by the Shopian Police in FIR No 06/2021, for which the Munsif court granted him interim bail. He was then arrested by Srinagar police.
Jammu and Kashmir Police later booked him under the public safety act and shifted him to central jail in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district.
Earlier, various international press freedom bodies and rights groups demanded the journalist’s release on an immediate basis.
Pertinently, four journalists from Kashmir Fahad Shah, Asif Sultan, Sajad Gul and Irfan Mehraj are currently facing detention under various sections of the law.
