Kashmiri journalist Asif Sultan has been granted bail by a special court after being incarcerated under the anti-terror UAPA and the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act since August 2018.
This decision comes approximately two months after he was initially granted bail by a Srinagar court, only to be re-arrested the following day under the PSA.
The bail was granted after more than six years of imprisonment on allegations of providing logistical support to a banned militant group.
Sultan’s release was delayed due to the requirement of “clearance letters” from Kashmir’s home department and Srinagar district magistrate.
Previously, he had been granted bail in April 2022 but was detained under the PSA before he could be released.
In the May 10 order, special judge Mohammad Syed Shah stated that Sultan was arrested by the police “without any reason or rhyme” and that he is innocent, having not committed any offense.
The order highlighted that the journalist had been unjustly incarcerated for years, with no reasonable justification, considering his circumstances as a detained and peaceful citizen.
In December of the previous year, another court had quashed Sultan’s detention, stating that the detaining authorities had not followed the required procedures.
According to his colleagues at Kashmir Narrator, as cited by BBC, Sultan was targeted due to his article on the death of militant leader Burhan Wani, which had sparked protests.
