Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, April 20, 2020: Freelance photojournalist Masrat Zahra has been booked under section 13 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) by the Kashmiri police. She has been accused of allegedly “uploading anti-national posts with criminal intention to induce the youth and promote offence against public tranquillity.”

The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the accusations used to silence Masrat. We demand that the Jammu and Kashmir police withdraw the charges on her and allow her - along with all journalists in India - to work without any fear of persecution.

According to a statement released by the cyber division of Kashmir’s police department, they received information from “reliable sources” claiming that a Facebook user named Masrat Zahra has uploaded “anti-national posts with criminal intention”. The police did not mention that the said Facebook user is a photojournalist. The posts, as stated by the police, were capable of “provoking the public to disturb law and order”. A first information report was also filed against Masrat under Section 505 of the Indian Penal Code.

“These incidents of pressure and intimidation of the press in India are becoming remarkably frequent. When journalists are obstructed from simply doing work in a given area or issue, the state doesn't like, they publish the press with obnoxious charges and accusations of anti-state. Masrat is simply a photojournalist, reporting from Jammu and Kashmir, and there is nothing anti-state about her work,” said CFWIJ founder Kiran Nazish. “Instead of resorting to intimidating journalists whose job is to share what they witness, the state should do it’s own job. It is alarming to find authorities to spend their time trying to silence the press instead of doing their job. We ask our colleagues in India to condemn these intimidations widely and allies in the government to raise the issue in their own capacity.”

The law under which Masrat has been charged allows the government to “proscribe individuals as terrorists and empowers more officers of the National Investigation Agency to probe cases.” An individual booked under this law can be jailed for up to seven years. Previously, a Kashmiri journalist Asif Sultan was also charged under several sections of the UAPA and the Ranbir Penal Code, as well as other relevant statutes by the Srinagar police. He has been in detention since August 2018.

CFWIJ reached out to Masrat to understand why she has been booked under the draconian charges. She shared with us that the police, on April 18, asked her to report to the police station immediately.

“Amid the coronavirus lockdown, I was not able to step out of my house and also did not have a curfew pass. Therefore, I told the police that I would not be able to come, but they insisted I report immediately. However, they did not say anything about the FIR. I found that through my colleagues” Masrat said when speaking with CFWIJ.

Masrat added that she did not go after she got a call from her senior colleagues and members of the Kashmir Press Club, who asked her to stay home while they contacted authorities to deal with the matter.

“I was told that the matter has been resolved and that there was no need for me to go to the police station. But today (April 20), I noticed tweets mentioning a woman journalist being booked under UAPA, which left me puzzled,” she said, speaking with CFWIJ.

Talking about the absurdity of the charges and her work as a photojournalist, Masrat said, “I am a photojournalist; what am I supposed to post if not my photographs? This is not the first time I have posted my work on social media, I have been doing that for the past four years on every social media platform,” she said.

Masrat further added that she is not a social activist nor does she have a political agenda when talking about the charges placed on her.

“My thoughts are my own. As a journalist, you do not have an ideology. I have been working as a professional and have covered everything, even offbeat stories,” she said, adding what has happened is beyond comprehension for her but she will go through all the legal formalities to deal with it accordingly.

Masrat has been receiving support from her colleagues in Kashmir ever since the news about the charges broke. She said, “Even though I am working in a male-dominated profession like photojournalism, everyone is standing by me in solidarity.

Tanvi Mishra, Creative Director of The Caravan - where Masrat’s stories have been published, has spoken to the CFWIJ in support of Masrat, speaking of their professional relationship as editor and reporter, she told us that Masrat has only been doing her job as a journalist. 

“I have watched Masrat emerge as a young, but powerful, voice within the Kashmiri journalist fraternity. I have been witness to her commitment towards her practice, as well as to reporting the truth from the ground. Even after the Indian government revoked article 370, and banned the internet, Masrat was rigorously reporting in Kashmir, battling the system to get her stories see the light of day. As her voice gets louder, the voice of the Kashmiri people that she photographs, many of them women, gets louder,” 

Tanvi told the CFWIJ, adding that the charges against Masrat are a blatant effort to intimidate her, and to suppress her voice, as well as the voice of those she represents.

The Kashmir Press Club has also released a statement to support their colleague through this difficult time.

“It emerges the police have filed a case against her with stringent charges and stringent Act and as per the conversation with Masrat she has been asked to come to the police station on Tuesday. We stand in solidarity with our colleagues especially Masrat Zahra and declare that journalism is not a crime. The KPC demands that the charges be dropped against her.”

Press freedom in Jammu and Kashmir is in shambles, as journalists are already facing internet connectivity issues and can only use 2G internet, which barely gets any work done. Masrat told us that if she works on an assignment, she is not able to send footage across, attach or open PDF files, and upload or download photographs. Even though social media is working in Kashmir, it is very slow to get anything done.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the charges on Masrat. To silence a journalist using a stringent law like the UAPA sets a dangerous precedent for advocates of press freedom in Jammu and Kashmir, where human rights violations have been rife for decades. Attacking a photojournalist like Masrat, who is only doing her job, is concerning and leaves journalists vulnerable to laws that punish them for their work. We demand the police in Jammu and Kashmir to revoke the charges on our colleague immediately.

Reporting by Rabia Mushtaq