Kashmir journo arrested in terror funding case

Mehraj is the first accused arrested in the case which was registered by NIA in 2020. The agency, however, did not immediately specify the charges against him.

Srinagar: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested Irfan Mehraj, Kashmir journalist and a close associate of human rights activist Khurram Parvez, in connection with an alleged case of terror funding by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the Valley, the agency said on Tuesday.

NIA said that Mehraj, a freelance journalist from Mehjoor Nagar in Srinagar, was working with JKCCS. (PTI)

Mehraj is the first accused arrested in the case which was registered by NIA in 2020. The agency, however, did not immediately specify the charges against him.

In 2021, Parvez, coordinator of human rights organisation Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Societies (JKCCS), was arrested under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment (UAPA) Act for alleged “criminal conspiracy, waging war against the government and terror funding”.

NIA said that Mehraj, a freelance journalist from Mehjoor Nagar in Srinagar, was working with JKCCS.

“Following comprehensive investigations into the NGO terror funding case registered in October 2020, the National Investigation Agency arrested Irfan Mehraj from Srinagar yesterday (20.03.2023),” NIA said in a statement.

“Mehraj was a close associate of (human rights activist) Khurram Parvez and was working with his organisation, Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Societies (JKCCS),” it added.

NIA said that “investigation revealed that the JKCCS was funding terror activities in the Valley and had also been in the propagation of a secessionist agenda in the Valley under the garb of protection of human rights”.

The agency said the alleged involvement of some Valley-based NGOs, trusts and societies in funding ‘terror-related activities’ is also under investigation.

“Some NGOs, both registered as well as unregistered, have come to notice collecting funds domestically and abroad under the cover of doing charity and various welfare activities, including public health, education etc. But some of these organisations have developed links with proscribed terrorist organisations, such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) etc,” NIA said.

Parvez is also the chairman of Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD), an international human rights organisation which focuses on the issue of forced disappearance in Asia. His arrest in 2021 was widely condemned by human rights bodies.

Political leaders and journalists also condemned Mehraj’s arrest, alleging he was taken into custody under UAPA.

“While conmen are given a free run in Kashmir, journalists like Irfan Mehraj are arrested for doing their duty by speaking the truth. Draconian laws like UAPA are abused constantly to ensure that the process itself becomes the punishment,” Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti said.

In a statement, the Press Club of India said: “We vehemently oppose the imposing of UAPA on mediapersons. The misuse of this draconian law by NIA in randomly arresting Irfan Mehraj, a journalist from Kashmir ominously points towards a violation of freedom of speech and expression. We demand his immediate release.

“This is pathetic. Laws are being weaponized against journalists,” prominent journalist and executive editor of Kashmir Times, Anuradha Bhasin, said.