Kashmir Journalist Kamran Yusuf faces life
imprisonment
Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir - On the morning
of September 4 last year, Kamran Yusuf left his home in Kashmir's Pulwama for
work, carrying his backpacks and cameras, but the photojournalist never
returned, his family says.
The following day, his family came to know through
news channels that Yusuf, who has been working as a photographer in the small
town known for its apple orchards, was arrested by Indian security forces and
sent to New Delhi, the Indian capital.
The 22-year-old freelance photojournalist, who has
been documenting the conflict in Indian-administered Kashmir, has been slapped
with charges of "stone throwing" and "waging war against
India". He has been in jail since then.
Irshad Ahmad Ganaie, Yusuf's uncle, says the family is
still in shock.
"His mother was divorced when he was two years
old. Since then, they are living with us. He was just working hard as a
photographer in his hometown; he used to freelance with many organisations, and
has taken all kinds of photographs," he said.
Ganaie, 38, says his nephew is being framed by the
National Investigation Agency (NIA). "He is being punished for his
work."
Not a 'real journalist'
In the charge sheet presented before a special NIA
court in New Delhi, the anti-terror agency has said that Yusuf was not a
"real journalist", as he had not covered social work done by the army
and paramilitary forces in the disputed Himalayan region.
"Kamran Yusuf had hardly taken any video of such
activity and video or image of any such activity can rarely be seen in his
laptop or mobile which clearly show his intention to only cover the activities
which are anti-national and earn money against such footages," the charge
sheet has said.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and
Reporters without Borders have called on Indian authorities to immediately drop
charges and release Yusuf.
"India's National Investigative Agency is way out
of its league and has no business defining what 'a real journalist' should
cover," Steven Butler, CPJ Asia programme coordinator, said in a
statement.
He added that Yusuf's work taking photographs of
conflict in Kashmir is a "public service in the best spirit of
journalism".
Rights groups, local journalists and media watchdogs
have raised their concerns at what they call "fabricated" charges
against the young journalist.
Amnesty International, in its annual human rights
report released on Thursday, said that if convicted, Yusuf might face life
imprisonment.
"Amnesty International believes the charges
against him to be fabricated and politically motivated, and part of an attempt
to stifle journalism in Kashmir," the rights body said in its report.
Threats and intimidation
Journalists in Kashmir, one of the most militarised
zones of the world, with more than half a million Indian forces, say threats
and intimidation are routine.
According to a report by the International Federation
of Journalists, published last November, at least 21 journalists have been
killed in the conflict – either directly targeted or caught in the crossfire in
Kashmir.
Muneeb-Ul-Islam, a freelance photographer, told Al
Jazeera that journalists are caught in the line of fire.
He says that he himself has been "beaten by
security forces many times" and had his cameras broken.
"Police think we side with stone-throwers and
stone-throwers think we are covering from police's side," said the
27-year-old.
Activists say the arrest of Yusuf will have a chilling
effect on media freedom in the region, that has been on the boil since Prime
Minister Narendra Modi, who came to power in 2014, adopted a hardline policy to
quell anti-India protests.
Yusuf Jameel has covered Kashmir for more than two
decades. He says there is an indirect censorship on journalists in Kashmir.
"Though there is no official censorship, they create
an atmosphere where it becomes difficult and sometimes impossible for a
journalist to report," he said.
His views are echoed by a prominent human rights
activist in the Muslim-majority region.
"By arresting a photographer, the Indian
government wants to create an example for the photo and video journalists in
Kashmir who document gun battles and stone-throwing for the world to see,"
said Khurram Parvez.
'Evidence of stone-pelting'
Muhammad Aslam Chowdhary, a senior police officer in
south Kashmir, admitted there was no direct case filed against Yusuf; however,
his involvement in "stone-pelting and other cases is under investigation.
"In one case, it has been found that a video where the burning of tricolor took place in south Kashmir was uploaded from his Facebook account, but we have not been able to question him yet, the investigation is still on," Chowdhary told Al Jazeera.
The NIA spokesperson, Alok Mittal, however, told Al Jazeera that "there is an evidence of stone-pelting against Yusuf.
"Involvement of accused Kamran Yusuf who claims to be a photojournalist in stone-pelting incidents was conclusively established. There is sufficient evidence on record, showing his participation in the incidents of stone-pelting, which has been submitted to the competent court. The Court has already taken cognisance of the charge sheet," he told Al Jazeera.
But Laxmi Murthy, a journalist based in Bangalore and author of IFJ's report, said the laws, in particular, counter-terror laws, with sweeping and vague provisions, have long been used to stifle the media.
"The arrest of Kamran Yusuf, a working photojournalist contributing to several media outlets, is clearly a violation of press freedom and journalists' rights," she said
Response: this article is good, addressing problems in
a difficult environment, and bringing up themes and ideas about problems of the
location that this article is about. The targeted audience for this article is
the journalists in that area of India. Journalist who have been effected by the
overpowering government. The bias from the author is clearing against the decisions
that the government has been making about the journalists in India, based on
the strong language against the government. When looking at this article I would
think that Kamran Yusuf does deserve to go to prison, but when diving in deeper
and analyzing the article I have second thoughts about my initial thought. This
article covers issue about the government controlling or censorship, and police
abuse, very good but difficult topics.
Citation:
Comments
Post a Comment