KPC aghast over harassment of photojournalist Kamran Yousuf

SRINAGAR — Kashmir Press Club (KPC) on Monday took serious note of the continuous harassment of journalists in the Valley.

In a statement issued here, the KPC spokesman said that on Sunday night, a multimedia journalist Kamran Yousuf working with NewsClick was picked up from his home by the police. The statement said that while recalling the details, Kamran said that a police party led by DySP and SHO Pulwama entered his home around 11 PM and knocked on the door.

“I saw policemen surrounding our premises. The police official asked me to come along and snatched my phones,” Kamran said, as per the statement.

According to him, he was taken in a police vehicle to the office of DySP and questioned about some Twitter account run by Kamran Manzoor. “They checked my phones and searched everything on it. They asked me about some Kamran Manzoor and showed me his Twitter account. The police officer said we had suspicion that you are running it,” said Kamran.

He said that finally after failing to find anything that they were looking for, the police official called some officer on phone and let him go at 1 PM in the dead of night. “My distraught family members were waiting outside and took me home,” he added.

The police’s nocturnal raid at the house of a journalist has once again highlighted the dangers faced by journalists in the Valley.

The Kashmir Press Club demands Home Minister Amit Shah as well as the J&K government to take note of the appalling conditions in which Press in Kashmir is working since August 05 last year.

As such, it is once again urged that the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression and speech is being respected in the region by allowing Press and journalists to function freely, the KPC statement said.