Fahad Shah

Fahad Shah is a Kashmiri journalist from Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. He is the founder and editor of the news magazine The Kashmir Walla. He was a recipient of a Human Rights Press Award in 2021.[1]

Fahad Shah
فَہد شاہ
Born
Fahad Shah

26-Nov-1990
Soura, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Alma materUniversity of London University of Kashmir
OccupationJournalist
AwardsHuman Rights Press Award

Shah was arrested on 4 February 2022 by Jammu and Kashmir Police for allegedly glorifying terrorism.[2][3][4]

Journalism career

Shah tried to break into journalism in Delhi in 2009. The Kashmir Walla was initially his personal blog when he started it in 2011. Shah was interviewed about being a Kashmiri journalist by Mayank Austen Soofi. Disheartened by negative attitudes towards Kashmiris in comments to the article, Shah changed the focus of the blog to be a news magazine. The Kashmir Walla struggled prior to 2018, but later had a staff of 16 and in June 2019 started producing a weekly newspaper. Following the August 2019 Revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, the internet blackout and curfews led to the news magazine not being able to publish for months.[5]

Shah's work has appeared in Foreign Affairs, Time, The Guardian, The Atlantic, and the South China Morning Post.[6]

Detention, harassment and arrests

Shah has been summoned multiple times by Indian security agencies in relation to news reports he has published. Following his return from a trip to Pakistan in 2017, Shah was detained and questioned by police.[6]

In July 2018 a teargas shell was fired into Shah's residence. Witnesses reported that the shell had been fired by security forces or armed forces. Shah's car was also vandalized by a paramilitary group.[7]

2022 arrests

Shah was arrested by Kashmiri police on 4 February 2022 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for "frequently glorifying terrorism, spreading fake news, and instigating people".[1] He was charged with allegedly glorifying terrorism[8][9][10] and was booked under the Public Safety Act.[11] He had been called in for questioning following coverage in The Kashmir Walla of a police raid in the Pulwama district where four people were killed.[12]

Shah was investigated for making statements causing public mischief and for sedition, but was granted bail on 26 February. He was immediately rearrested on separate charges including "provocation with intent to cause a riot", stemming from reports by The Kashmir Walla on allegations that official pressure was placed on a Kashmir school.[13]

Shah was again granted bail on 5 March,[14] and rearrested.[1]

In April 2022, Shah's home and the offices of the news magazine were raided by Kashmir police and SIA over an opinion article written by The Kashmir Walla contributor Abdul Aala Fazili in 2011.[15]

A National Investigation Agency court denied Shah bail on 15 July 2022.[14]

Awards

Shah was nominated for a Reporters Without Borders award in 2020.[16] He received the Human Rights Press Award for Explanatory Feature Writing in 2021 for reporting on violence against Muslims in Delhi for The Nation.[1]

See also

References
  1. Bustillos, Maria (2 March 2022). "Fahad Shah, and the perils of reporting in Kashmir". Columbia Journalism Review.
  2. "Police arrest Kashmir journalist Fahad Shah". Greater Kashmir. 4 February 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  3. "Hours after bail, J&K journalist Fahad Shah arrested for the third time". The Indian Express. 7 March 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  4. Ali, Jehangir (14 March 2022). "Day Before Bail Hearing, J&K Journalist Fahad Shah Booked Under Public Safety Act". The Wire. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  5. Tameez, Hanaa' (5 August 2020). "One year after India cracked down on Kashmir, The Kashmir Walla turns to membership to survive". Nieman Lab.
  6. Bustillos, Maria (13 February 2020). "How one Kashmiri magazine survived a press crackdown". Columbia Journalism Review.
  7. "Teargas attack on reporter's home in Kashmir | RSF". Reporters Without Borders. 12 July 2018.
  8. Ali, Jehangir. "In PSA Order, Kashmiri Journalist Fahad Shah Accused of 'Promoting Separatism'". The Wire. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  9. "Kashmir journalist arrested amid widening crackdown". Al Jazeera. 5 February 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  10. Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (6 February 2022). "Editor arrested in Kashmir as press crackdown escalates". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  11. Aswani, Tarushi (18 March 2022). "Noted Kashmiri Journalist Jailed Again Despite Being Granted Bail Twice". The Diplomat. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  12. Mashal, Mujib (5 February 2022). "Editor in Kashmir Is Arrested Amid Intensifying Clampdown". The New York Times.
  13. "Indian authorities arrest journalist Nilesh Sharma, re-arrest Fahad Shah". Committee to Protect Journalists. 9 March 2022.
  14. "NIA court denies bail to Abdul Fazili, Fahad Shah". The Hindu. 15 July 2022.
  15. "Indian authorities raid The Kashmir Walla, arrest contributor over 2011 article". Committee to Protect Journalists. 19 April 2022.
  16. "RSF announces nominees for its 2020 Press Freedom Awards". Reporters Without Borders. 16 November 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
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