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Journalism of Courage
For the first time in the over three decades of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, an NIA court in Jammu has framed charges against a journalist and a Kashmir University scholar in a sedition case, registered by the State Investigation Agency (SIA) following the publication of an article.
The scholar, Abdul Ala Fazili, had written an article titled “The shackles of slavery will break” and the journalist, Peerzada Fahad Shah, published it in The Kashmir Walla, the digital magazine where he is editor-in-chief.
Both were arrested following the registration of a case by the CIJ police station on April 4, 2022. An official said the charges were framed on Thursday by the special judge designated under the NIA Act, Ashwani Kumar.
Quoting the chargesheet, the official said that “duo under an active conspiracy and Pakistan’s support, resurrected a platform reviving the narrative in support of terrorist and separatist ecosystem” in Kashmir. “They were spreading an anti-India narrative by exploiting the digital platform under a concealed and camouflaged set-up with the help of their illicit funding received from hostile foreign agencies and proscribed terrorist organisations,” he added.
According to the official, the investigation has established that the duo were in touch with secessionists across the border and also with some identified terrorists locally. Through their publications the duo allegedly advocated terrorism and glorified terrorists to radicalise the youth of Jammu & Kashmir and incite them to join secessionist and terrorist organisations.
The SIA filed a chargesheet in the case in the court on October 13, 2022, after procuring the requisite government sanction. After hearing the rival contentions, the court on Thursday found sufficient material against the duo to frame charges.
Aala Fazili was charged under sections 13 (unlawful activity) and 18 (conspiracy, advocating, abetting, inciting, facilitating a terrorist act or any preparation to commit a terrorist act) of the UAPA as well as sections 121(abetting, waging of war against government of India), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) of the Indian Penal Code.
Besides these sections, Peerzada Fahad Shah was charged also under sections 35 (accepting foreign contribution in contravention of provisions of FCRA, or any order or rule therein) and 39 (violation of FCRA by a company tantamount to contravention by the persons in charge or responsible for business of such company) of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act 2010.
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