Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): After a protracted legal battle lasting over five years, Kashmiri journalist Asif Sultan, on Thursday Feb 29 finally returned home to his family in Srinagar. Sultan's release came 78 days after the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh quashed the detention order against him under the Public Safety Act (PSA) on December 11, 2023.
The joyous occasion was marked by Sultan's safe arrival at his home in Srinagar, ending 2,012 days in custody in the militancy case. However, the delay in his release was attributed to bureaucratic procedures, with Ambedkar Nagar prison authorities citing the need for clearance letters from Kashmir's district magistrate and home department, extending the process for over two and a half months.
Asif Sultan was arrested on August 27, 2018 on charges of providing logistical support to the banned militant group Hizbul Mujahideen. Initially detained under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), additional charges under the PSA were later brought against him.
In a significant turn of events in April 2022, the High Court granted Sultan bail in the UAPA case, citing a lack of evidence linking him to any militant group. However, just four days after this order, he was detained under the PSA, prolonging his imprisonment.
Sultan's family maintained his innocence throughout the ordeal, asserting that he was targeted for his journalistic work. They pointed to a story titled 'The Rise of Burhan,' published in July 2018 by Kashmir Narrator, where Sultan worked as an assistant editor. The story provided key details about Hizbul Mujahideen's poster boy Burhan Wani, featuring interviews with overground workers of the militant group.
The journalist's name surfaced in an FIR related to a gunfight with militants in Srinagar's Batamaloo, Sultan's neighborhood, on August 12, 2018. Despite vehement denials from his lawyer, Adil Abdullah Pandit, about Sultan's presence at the gunfight site and any involvement with militants, he was apprehended in a midnight raid on August 27.
Even during his time behind bars, Asif Sultan's commitment to journalistic integrity garnered international acclaim. In 2019, he was honored with the prestigious annual John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award by the National Press Club of America.
Sultan's case is not a lone case involving Kashmiri journalists. Notably, photojournalist Kamran Yousuf faced arrest by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2017. Kamran was accused of involvement in stone-pelting incidents and organizing youth groups against government forces. Yousuf was released on bail in March 2018.
Another journalist, Fahad Shah, spent 658 days in detention under similar circumstances before being released in November last year. In February 2022, Shah was taken into custody under several sections of UAPA and PSA.
