Human rights defender and journalist Aasif Sultan released on bail
On 10 May 2024, human rights defender and journalist from Indian-administered Kashmir (IAK) Aasif Sultan was granted bail by a court in Srinagar. Released on 27 February after nearly six years of incarceration, Aasif Sultan was re-arrested merely two days later based on another case related to an incident of rioting at Srinagar’s Central Jail.
On 29 February 2024, human rights defender and Kashmiri journalist Aasif Sultan was arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), India’s counter-terrorism legislation. This arrest occurred merely two days after his release from jail on 27 February 2024. Initially arrested in August 2018 under UAPA and other offences, Aasif Sultan has now been implicated in another case related to an incident of rioting at Srinagar’s Central Jail. The continuous targeting of Aasif Sultan represents a pattern of reprisals against human rights defenders and journalists in Indian administered Kashmir (IAK), especially since the unilateral abrogation of its autonomous statehood in 2019.
Aasif Sultan is a human rights defender and journalist from IIAK. He was the editor of a magazine called the Kashmir Narrator, whose social media accounts were blocked by the government of India under the Information Technology Act 2000 in August 2018. He has extensively reported on the human rights situation and politics in IAK and was awarded the John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award by the National Press Club of America in October 2019.
On 10 May 2024, human rights defender and journalist from Indian-administered Kashmir (IAK) Aasif Sultan was granted bail by a court in Srinagar. Released on 27 February after nearly six years of incarceration, Aasif Sultan was re-arrested merely two days later based on another case related to an incident of rioting at Srinagar’s Central Jail. He was accused of multiple offenses including those under the Unflawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). While granting him bail, the court stated that merely invoking the UAPA is not enough to warrant rejection of bail applications. However, Aasif Sultan has been granted bail under strict conditions including prohibition from using encrypted messaging apps or proxy networks. Given the repeated use of UAPA and public security laws against Aasif Sultan by authorities in IAK, there is a credible fear of re-arrest or further targeting of the HRD.
On 29 February 2024, human rights defender and Kashmiri journalist Aasif Sultan was arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), India’s counter-terrorism legislation. This arrest occurred merely two days after his release from jail on 27 February 2024. Initially arrested in August 2018 under UAPA and other offences, Aasif Sultan has now been implicated in another case related to an incident of rioting at Srinagar’s Central Jail. The continuous targeting of Aasif Sultan represents a pattern of reprisals against human rights defenders and journalists in Indian administered Kashmir (IAK), especially since the unilateral abrogation of its autonomous statehood in 2019.
Aasif Sultan is a human rights defender and journalist from IIAK . He was the editor of a magazine called the Kashmir Narrator, whose social media accounts were blocked by the government of India under the Information Technology Act 2000 in August 2018. He has extensively reported on the human rights situation and politics in IAK and was awarded the John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award by the National Press Club of America in October 2019.
On 29 February 2024, Aasif Sultan was summoned by the Rainawari police station in Srinagar and arrested under First Information Report (FIR) 19/2019, including charges related to rioting, unlawful assembly, endangering human life, attempt to murder under the Indian Penal Code, and advocating, abetting, or inciting unlawful activity under the UAPA. The FIR is related to an incident of rioting in Srinagar’s Central Jail in 2019, where Aasif Sultan was being held in relation to FIR 73/2018, marking the beginning of the judicial persecution that he has repeatedly faced.
Aasif Sultan was first arrested under FIR 73/2018 in August 2018, a month after he published an article on the killing of Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces. Accused of harboring militants at his house, he was arrested under UAPA and several charges under the Indian Penal Code. In April 2022, a court in Srinagar granted him bail, citing the failure of authorities to link Aasif Sultan to any militant groups. However, he was immediately rearrested under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act (PSA), a preventive detention law allowing for detention without trial for two years. He was detained under the PSA and transferred to Ambedkar Nagar Jail in Uttar Pradesh, several kilometers away from his family home in Srinagar.
In December 2023, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court quashed the PSA proceedings against Aasif Sultan and ordered the authorities to end his unjust detention. He was finally released from prison two months after this verdict, on 27 February 2024, only to be arrested again two days later, in another fabricated case with allegations of terrorism.
Front Line Defenders believes that the repeated judicial persecution faced by Aasif Sultan is reprisal against his human rights work and journalism. The consistent use of draconian counter-terrorism legislations against Sultan constitutes a severe abuse of power by state authorities in IAK. Front Line Defenders urges the authorities in India to immediately release human rights defender Aasif Sultan and end criminal proceedings against him.
