The UN Special Rapporteur Mary Lawlor tweeted deep concern over Mehraj’s incarceration and called for his release.
Among journalists’ collectives, the Press Club of India, Editors Guild of India and the Journalist Federation of Kashmir also criticised the action.
“EGI is deeply concerned about the excessive use of UAPA against journalists, most recently, in the case of the arrest of Irfan Mehraj, a Kashmir-based journalist, by the NIA. The Guild urges the state administration to respect democratic values,” EGI said.
EGI also said that Mehraj’s arrest continues a trend in Kashmir of security forces arresting journalists because of their critical reporting of the establishment. “These include journalists Aasif Sultan, Sajad Gul, and Fahad Shah. The space for media freedom has progressively eroded in Kashmir,” it added.
“The arrest of Kashmiri journalist Irfan Mehraj under terror charges is a travesty. The arrest is yet another instance of the long-drawn repression of human rights and the crackdown on media freedoms and civil society in the region of Jammu and Kashmir. The stifling of the rights to freedom of expression and association continue unabated in Kashmir,” Amnesty International said in a statement.
“Human rights defenders such as Irfan Mehraj should be encouraged and protected, not persecuted,” Aakar Patel, the chair of board at Amnesty International India, said.
The PCI called the imposition of the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act on a journalist a reflection of the “violation of freedom of speech and expression.”
In an eight-thread tweet, the Journalist Federation of Kashmir noted that Mehraj is a hardworking journalist who has written for global outlets.
“Three journalists from Kashmir, Asif Sultan, Sajad Gul and Fahad Shah, are already in jail,” the JFK tweeted.
