Kashmiri Journalist Shah Released From Jail After 600 Days

Prominent Kashmiri journalist Fahad Shah has been freed from jail after more than 600 days of confinement after a court granted him bail, saying there was “not enough evidence” to try him for terrorism.

Shah, 34, was released from Kot Bhalwal Jail in the region’s Southern city of Jammu an official told Al Jazeera.

Shah is the owner and editor of the independent news portal Kashmir Walla, banned earlier this year by the Indian government for undeclared reasons.

In its bail order last week, the region’s High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh said the Special Investigation Agency (SIA), a local agency formed earlier this year, lacked evidence against Shah to prove charges under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), a stringent terror law.

The UAPA has been criticised by several rights groups as draconian and mainly used by India’s Hindu nationalist government to target political opponents, activists and dissidents.

Shah was accused of “glorifying terrorism” and “spreading fake news” for publishing a piece by Abdul Aala Fazili, a pharmacy student at the University of Kashmir, which reportedly talked about the Indian “occupation” and freedom for the region. Fazili, who was also arrested along with Shah, remains in jail.

The court said while the said opinion piece purportedly called for the secession of Indian-administered Kashmir, its publication “doesn’t incite violence or an armed insurrection against the state”. It quashed certain charges against him, including “abetting terrorism, waging war against the country and promoting enmity” under the UAPA.

While the court acknowledged that getting bail under the UAPA was difficult, it could not be denied to Shah because he did not pose a “clear and present danger” to society if released.

“It would mean that any criticism of the central government can be described as a terrorist act because the honour of India is its incorporeal property. Such a proposition would collide headlong with the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression enshrined in Article 19 of the constitution,” the court said in its bail order.

Shah will continue to face trial under other sections of the UAPA and under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, which deals with receiving illegal funds.

ALJAZEERA