Indian court reserves order on photojournalist Kamran Yousuf

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 16 February 2018

A local court in New Delhi has reserved its decision on Kamran Yousuf's bail plea, emphasizing the absence of evidence against him. The case highlights concerns over media restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir.

Summary

NEW DELHI - A local court in India’s national capital has reserved its order on the bail plea of freelance photojournalist Kamran Yousuf after his lawyer argued that there was no evidence against him and his arrest was made to gag media in the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir.

India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a charge sheet against several Kashmiris, one of whom is Kamran Yousuf, in the fake case. Additional Sessions Judge Tarun Sherawat reserved the order for February 19 after hearing arguments from the counsel of Kamran Yousuf and that of the NIA.

The advocate appearing for Kamran Yousuf told the court that there was no evidence in the charge sheet against his client. Kamran Yousuf, a resident of Pulwama, was arrested by the NIA in September last year along with Javaid Ahmed Butt of Kulgam.

“They don’t have any evidence against him. If it’s a crime to cover events in South Kashmir, including police and government functions, then all Kashmiri journalists and photojournalists should be booked,” said Irshad Ahmed, uncles of the victim photojournalist. - Online

KEY POINTS:

• Kamran Yousuf's bail plea has been reserved by an Indian court.
• His lawyer argued there is no evidence supporting the charges.
• Yousuf was arrested by India's NIA in September last year.
• The case raises issues regarding media freedom in Jammu and Kashmir.
• Public outrage over the treatment of Kashmiri journalists continues.