When Kashmiri journalist Aasif Sultan was arrested in August 2018, the police claimed he worked for the banned militant group, Hizbul Mujah...
When Kashmiri journalist Aasif Sultan was arrested in August 2018, the police claimed he worked for the banned militant group, Hizbul Mujahideen.
He was charged with murder and conspiracy in a case related to an exchange of gunfire between militants and security forces in Srinagar. He was also booked under the stringent anti-terror law, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
Sultan, then 31, was working for a local English magazine Kashmir Narrator. His family and colleagues asserted he has been framed in a militancy case for his journalistic work.
On May 25, Sultan completed 1,000 days in prison. As the trial against him drags on, there are more questions about his case than answers.
Sample this: During the investigation, the police claimed they had seized 17 sheets with the letterhead of the Hizbul Mujahideen from Sultan’s home at the time of his arrest.
This raid was based on the disclosure of a co-accused in the case, Shazia Yaqoob, who had been arrested days before Sultan, the police said. The chargesheet filed in court said the co-accused had met Sultan and other associates of the militant group several times in different places in Srinagar.
But when Sultan was presented before the co-accused for the purpose of photo identification, Yaqoob denied knowing...
