South Asia Human Rights Journalist Association

Srinagar April 20,2020: The police has booked a 26-year-old  female Kashmiri photo journalist for uploading anti-India posts on social media.The police have reportedly booked a noted female photojournalist Masrat Zahra,  whose work has been published by reputed news organisations as a freelance photojournalist under unlawful activities (Prevention) Act for uploading anti-India posts . 
“Yes, she has been booked for her Facebook posts that glorify militants. Her posts post threat to law and order and spread misinformation,” Superintendent of Police (SP) Cyber Cell Kashmir, Tahir Ashraf told media men in Srinagar.Police sources said that a case under FIR under UAPA act and 505-IPC stands registered with the Cyber Cell of police, Kashmir. Under IPC 505, a person can be booked for two years of rigorous imprisonment.

The police claimed that Masrat Zahra uploaded photographs and posts that could provoke the public to disturb law and order.
The amended UAPA allows the government to proscribe individuals as terrorists and empowers more officers of theb Indian National Investigation Agency to probe cases. A person charged under the act can be jailed for up to seven years.
The police said that Masrat Zahra, a freelance photojournalist who reports mostly about women and children in conflict, uploaded photographs .
Zehra  while talking to Scroll.in said,“that she was asked to immediately report to the Cyber Police Station in Srinagar on Saturday evening”.
“Since there was a lockdown and I didn’t have a curfew pass, I told them [the police] that I cannot come immediately,” Zahra said. “They pressurised me to come but I didn’t go. They didn’t mention a first information report.”
 Zahra told the Scroll.in  that after the call from the police, she approached senior journalists for help.
“I immediately brought the call to the notice of senior journalists and office bearers of Kashmir Press Club,” she said. “Later that evening, I got a call from one of the KPC [Kashmir Press Club] members and they told me that the matter has been solved and I didn’t need to go. They told me that they have spoken to police higher-ups about the matter.”
The journalist said that she did not receive any more calls from the police after that but saw social media posts about the charges against her.
“Early today [Monday] morning, I saw some tweets doing rounds that a woman journalist has been booked under UAPA,” she said. “The police didn’t call me directly to inform me about the FIR. I came to know about it from my colleagues” Scroll quoted her saying.
Journalist bodies condemn, demand dropping of FIR
The Kashmir Press Club, a representative body of Kashmir journalist and Network for Women in Media (India) have condemned the booking of Masrat and demanded immediate dropping of of FIR against her.

Meanwhile, the Twitterati and journalists in Kashmir started the hashtag #IStandWithMasratZahra in support of the woman journalist.
The case has drawn an online protest from Kashmiri journalists who sent out a tweet: “Masarat Zehra, a professional photojournalist, has honestly told stories of Kashmir in 4-year career. Invoking UAPA is outrageous. In solidarity with our colleague, we demand FIR withdrawn. Journalism isn’t crime. Intimidation/ censorship won’t silence Kashmir’s journalists.”
Kashmiri journalist Gowhar Geelani told Al Jazeera that "invoking stringent provisions of a draconian law" against Zahra "speaks volumes about the gags against media to silence journalists, to control the narratives by use of force, and to contain the Kashmir story with lawlessness".
In a statement, the Kashmir Press Club said the “government, especially the police, need to understand there is a vast difference between journalism and cybercrime”.
The Network of Women in Media India, of which Zahra is a member, said the case against her should be withdrawn.
“The charges are preposterous in the extreme and amount to rank intimidation of a journalist who has won acclaim for her work, which documents the lived experiences of the people of Kashmir,” said the group in a statement.