SRINAGAR A city court on Saturday extended the judicial remand of local journalist till October 1.
Aisf Sultan, Assistant Editor at a local magazine Kashmir Narrator, was picked up by police from his residence in Batamaloo here on late evening of August 27.
After six days of detention, he was, on September 1, shown arrested by the police, alleging he was complicit in harbouring known (militants). Police had also seized his laptop, cell phones and other documents.
Sultans family and the news magazine strongly refuted the allegations. Indian Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Reporters Without Borders have condemned Sultans detention and asked the government to release him.
The Kashmir Editors Guild while stressing on the importance of the freedom of speech had asked police to make public the charges against him. The incriminating material the police have stated in a routine statement is too vague to be accepted as a reason, KEG said.
KEG asked the police to acknowledge that data collection is intrinsic to a journalists role and that every reporters laptop will have incriminating material. It said reporters should not be forced to reveal their sources, as the practice is considered illegal in other democratic countries.
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