An Indian journalist is arrested for posting 'anti-national' posts on Facebook
As Indian officials continue to censor the media, Kashmir Walla editor Fahad Shah has been accused of inciting violence and glorifying terrorism.
Fahad ShahFahad Shah
As part of a wider crackdown on the media in disputed Kashmir, police have arrested a prominent journalist who published "anti-national content."
The police tweeted on Saturday that Fahad Shah is wanted for glorifying terrorism, spreading fake news, and inciting the general public to create law and order situations.
Shah is the editor of the news portal Kashmir Walla. Authorities questioned him in southern Pulwama town on Friday before arresting him.
Shah was identified by police as one of the Facebook users and other users who shared content that had a "criminal intent" to spread fear and potentially disrupt law and order.
The arrest of Shah is believed to be connected to a gunfight between Kashmiri rebels and Indian troops in Pulwama on January 30. Police reported a rebel commander and two local militants were killed in the hostilities. The fourth victim was the house owner's teenage son. Authorities described the youth as a "hybrid" militant, a term police began using for alleged militants without a police record who operate as civilians.
Several reports on the gunfight appeared on the Kashmir Walla website. According to one video report, family members of the slain teenager refuted the police allegations. According to another piece of footage, the boy's sister contradicted an earlier statement from his family.
Over the past few years, Shah has come under increasing scrutiny for his reporting. Before his arrest on Friday, he had already been questioned several times by police about his media work.
According to CPJ Asia program director Steven Butler, Shah's detention illustrated the "utter disregard" authorities have for press freedom and the right of journalists to report freely and safely in the region.
Since New Delhi revoked the territory's partial autonomy and placed it under direct rule in 2019, scores of Kashmiri journalists have been summoned by the police and interrogated for their work.
