Kashmir editors body asks for immediate release of photojournalist arrested by NIA

The Kashmir Editors Guild (KEG) on Tuesday asked authorities to “immediately” release a freelance photo and video journalist, who was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) last week on charges of stone-pelting.

Kamran Yusuf, a native of Pulwama district of south Kashmir, was arrested on September 4 and taken to New Delhi the next day. Another alleged stone-pelter, Javed Bhat, a resident of Kulgam district, was arrested along with Yusuf.

The 23-year-old is a regular contributor of photos to Kashmir’s largest circulated English daily Greater Kashmir apart from his work for other television channels and publications.

The KEG expressed “serious concern over the continuous detention” of Yusuf.

“The agency NIA has arrested Kamran Yusuf without spelling out the reasons and that doesn’t gel with the set legal norms prevalent in any democratic setup,” the body said in a statement.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) - a nonprofit organisation promoting press freedom - also demanded Yusuf’s immediate release. The CPJ observed Yusuf has been held without charge since September 4.

Yusuf’s family, friends, and colleagues have denied he was a stone-pelter. Journalists across Kashmir have protested the detention and asked the NIA to come clear on the charges against Yusuf.

Reporters quoted officials as saying Yusuf took pictures of stone-pelting protests and they were published in local newspapers apart from going viral on WhatsApp groups, which allegedly hosted content that incited stone pelters.