'Journalist Federation of Kashmir' condemns 'intimidation' of journos in valley

The Journalist Federation of Kashmir (JFK) issued a statement against the backdrop of the authorities stopping journalist Aakash Hassan from travelling to Srilanka.

Srinagar:The Journalist Federation of Kashmir (JFK) Wednesday condemned the "continued harassment and intimidation" of journalists in Kashmir. In the latest instance, Aakash Hassan, a journalist who majorly contributes to the British newspaper The Guardian, was barred from travelling to Srilanka from Delhi’s IGI airport on July 26. He was detained at the airport and questioned by some officials as well.

"The ugly pattern of harassing journalists in Kashmir has amplified over the past few years and debarring them from travel is seen as a tactic by the authorities to coerce journalists into not reporting facts on the ground, people in power aren’t comfortable with," the Federation said in a statement. Interestingly, travel restriction against Hassan came on a day when Chief Justice of India N V Ramana called journalists "the eyes and ears of people" and said that independent journalism was the "backbone of democracy".

JFK strongly condemned the "pattern of intimidation" and viewed it as continued attacks on freedom of press in Kashmir. "Journalists in Kashmir have always worked under perilous conditions, holding up values of press freedom in the face of dangers to life and liberty," he said. The Supreme Court in a ruling in 2020 said “India's freedoms will rest safe as long as journalists can speak truth to power without being chilled by a threat of reprisal.” It further said that "Deprivation of liberty even for a single day is one day too many."

"For a vibrant press to flourish in a society, authorities have to move beyond hollow claims of respect for press freedom and work towards a conducive environment where a journalist can report the facts on ground, express opinion on social media without fear and travel without restrictions," reads the JFK statement.