Police in Kashmir summons journalist Qazi Shibli
The editor of a south Kashmir based news portal, The Kashmiriyat, was summoned by Jammu and Kashmir police’s cyber cell in Srinagar on Friday for “unknown reasons.”
In a statement, the Kashmiriyat said that Qazi Shibli “got a call from the Cyber Police station at around 2:15 PM on Thursday asking him to present himself” in the Cyber Police Station in Srinagar today.
“He has gone inside the Cyber Police station half an hour ago, and I am waiting for him to return,” a relative of Mr. Shibli told The Kashmir Walla.
Notably, Mr. Shibli was detained and booked under Public Safety Act after he reported on the additional deployment of the government forces in Kashmir ahead in the last week of July 2019. On 5 August, the Government of India revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and clamped down on the region.
He was released after nine months of imprisonment in Uttar Pradesh. In an exclusive interview, The Kashmir Walla had spoken to Mr. Shibli about his detention period and the status of press freedom in Kashmir.
The Kashmiriyat condemned the summon, calling it “constant attacks on the fourth pillar of democracy and those who are trying to preserve the essence of it.”
The Kashmir Walla tried contacting police officials but couldn’t reach. The story will be updated upon their response.
