Journalists stage protest for arrested colleague, seek his release

5 Dariya News

Srinagar 10-Sep-2018

The journalists working for different local and national media organizations on Monday staged a peaceful sit-in here to protest the continued detention of their colleague.Reports reaching newsgathering agency Global News Service said that the sit-in organized by Kashmir Journalist Association (KJA) at the Press Colony here this afternoon witnessed the presence of members of Kashmir Working Journalists Association, (KWJA), Kashmir Photojournalists Association (KPA) and Video Journalists Association of Kashmir (VJAK) as well.The protesters carrying placards that read “Journalism is not a crime,” “Do not dictate, we know our job,” “Journalism of courage has taken a severe,” beating” “We are not afraid, we are more determined,” denounced the continuous detention of their colleague Aasif Sultan, the Assistant Editor of the monthly magazine Kashmir Narrator, who was arrested by police in a raid on August 22.The protesting journalists sought the immediate release of Sultan.Meanwhile, reports said that Sultan’s detention has been challenged in the court. The court has fixed September 13 for hearing the case, while issuing the notice to the state government.Sultan’s arrest has evoked widespread criticism from many media watchdogs and human rights organizations. International watchdogs ‘Reporters Without Borders’ and the ‘International Federation of Journalists’ (IFJ) have condemned Sultan’s arrest and sought his immediate release. (GNS)