New Delhi: A Delhi Court Wednesday sent Kashmiri journalist Irfan Mehraj to a 10-day remand to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in a case registered under Unlawful Activities (Protection) Act.
The probe agency arrested the accused journalist on Monday from Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir alleging that he was propagating secessionist agenda in the Valley under the garb of protection of human rights.
He was later produced before the Patiala House courts in Delhi in the case that pertained to NGO Terror funding case registered in October 2020. The central agency asked for the 12-day remand of the journalist.
In a chargesheet filed by the NIA, it was stated that, “Irfan Mehraj was a close associate of Khurram Parvez and was working with his organization, Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Societies (JKCCS).”
Parvez who is the founder and programme coordinator of the JKCCS was arrested on November 22, 2021, by the NIA on charges of “terrorism”.
The arrest of Parvez was highly condmend by the a panel of UN experts who cited that the detention would cause a “chilling effect” on civil society, rights activists and journalists in the valley.
The NIA mentioned that the organisations, including JKCCS, were being probed for receiving domestic and foreign funds while developing links with proscribed “terrorist” groups including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM).
In its press release, the NIA said that there are a number of Valley-based NGOs, Trusts and Societies, which have been recieving funds domestically as well as from abroad under the cover of doing charity.
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Journalists like Irfan should be protected than prosecuted: Amnesty India
Amnesty India has called out Irfan Mehraj’s detention, terming it as “travesty.” It said that the arrest is yet another instance of the long-drawn repression of human rights and the crackdown on media freedoms and civil society in the region of Jammu and Kashmir.
“The stifling of the rights to freedom of expression and association continue unabated in Kashmir,” it added.
Asking for his immediate release, the Amnesty India stated that the journalists like Mehraj should be protected and not prosecuted.
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The arrest of Kashmiri journalist Irfan Mehraj under terror charges is a travesty. He must be immediately released. The crackdown on media freedoms and civil society in India must end.
https://t.co/96nERGGJ4t— Amnesty India (@AIIndia) March 21, 2023
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