CPJ slams India for laying sedition charge against detained Kashmiri photojournalist
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NEW YORK: The Committee to Project Journalists, a New York-based watchdog body, has deplored Indian authorities action in charging photojournalist Kamran Yousuf with criminal conspiracy, attempting to wage war against India and sedition, while demanding his immediate release from prison.
Indian Authorities charged Yousuf alongside 12 others accused of anti-state activities, according to media reports.
Yousuf, a freelancer working in the Jammu and Kashmir region, who contributes to the daily Greater Kashmir, has been in custody since September 5 after being arrested for allegedly throwing stones, the reports said.
"Indian authorities must stop abusing their power and using heavy-handed tactics to go after a photojournalist who was merely doing his job," CPJ Asia Programme Coordinator Steven Butler, said in a statement on Thursday.
"Kamran Yousuf has already unjustly spent four months in jail and should be released immediately," he added.
India's National Investigation Agency submitted the charge sheet to Delhi's Patiala House Court, which is due to hear the agency's request to continue with its inquiry on January 30, according to Scroll.
