Journalists¿ Appeal To The Authorities In The Iftikhar Gilani Case
APPEAL ISSUED BY KASHMIR TIMES
Iftekar Geelani, is New Delhi bureau chief of the
Indian daily Kashmir Times and also correspondent for the Pakistani daily The
Nation. He is also the son in law of Syed Ali Shah Geelani. Iftekar Geelani was
arrested on June 9 and charged under the Official Secrets Act. The police were
granted a further five days to hold him for questioning. He was arrested at his
New Delhi home by tax department officers and police. Evidently the IT
authorities found nothing incriminating because the police booked him under the
Official Secrets Act. He was accused of storing information in his laptop
computer about India¿s military presence in Kashmir. He pointed out that this
material was from a 1997 US State Department report that had already been
published in the Indian daily The Hindu.
The other seizures include visa forms for Pakistan.
For journalists to be in possession of excerpts of a
1997 US State Department report should not be deemed a crime. We treat it as a
conspiracy to tarnish his image and to put curbs on freedom of press. We are
hoping for support among worldwide journalist fraternity to express solidarity
for Iftikhar and rally behind him against his arrest in a totally fabricated
case.
Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal
Executive Editor
Kashmir Times
Journalists¿ Appeal To
The Authorities In The Iftikhar Gilani Case
Iftikhar Gilani , the New Delhi
bureau chief of the respected Jammu-based Indian daily, Kashmir Times, was
arrested on June 9 under the Offical Secrets Act. Gilani has accreditation with
the Government of India¿s Press Information Bureau. According to media reports,
the police claim to have recovered a document pertaining to Indian troop
movements in Kashmir and blank Pakistani visa forms. Gilani and his wife say
that the document in question is a newspaper article he wrote several years ago
based on a published pamphlet. As for the visa forms, it is not uncommon for
journalists who travel to Pakistan for professional or personal reasons to keep
blank visa forms.
Whatever the merits of the case, we as journalists
would urge the government to ensure that the investigation is fair and that
Gilani does not face any harassment or ill-treatment at the hands of the
authorities. Any information in his possession must also be evaluated in the
light of his professional requirements as a journalist and any evidence or
charge the police has against him must be made public.
Aunohita Mojumdar and others
Posted June 20, 2002