Srinagar: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), senior leader of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference and President of Anjuman Sharie Shian, Agha Syed Hasan Al-Moosvi Al-Safvi, has strongly condemned the summoning of journalists to police stations merely for performing their professional duties.
Agha Syed Hasan, in a statement issued in Srinagar, said it was deeply alarming that journalists who reported on the forced profiling of mosques and religious scholars are being summoned to police stations, harassed, and compelled to sign affidavits, sureties and written bonds. He said such actions are unacceptable in any democratic society.
He said religious places cannot be subjected to surveillance solely on the basis of identity, and fact-based journalism carried out in the public interest cannot be criminalized. Harassing journalists for discharging their professional responsibilities, he added, amounts to a direct assault on press freedom.
Agha Syed Hasan said democracy guarantees both religious freedom and freedom of the press. He urged the occupation authorities to immediately stop the harassment of journalists and to demonstrate, in practice, their commitment to constitutional rights and democratic values.
Agha Syed Hasan, in a statement issued in Srinagar, said it was deeply alarming that journalists who reported on the forced profiling of mosques and religious scholars are being summoned to police stations, harassed, and compelled to sign affidavits, sureties and written bonds. He said such actions are unacceptable in any democratic society.
He said religious places cannot be subjected to surveillance solely on the basis of identity, and fact-based journalism carried out in the public interest cannot be criminalized. Harassing journalists for discharging their professional responsibilities, he added, amounts to a direct assault on press freedom.
Agha Syed Hasan said democracy guarantees both religious freedom and freedom of the press. He urged the occupation authorities to immediately stop the harassment of journalists and to demonstrate, in practice, their commitment to constitutional rights and democratic values.