SRINAGAR: An award-winning journalist in held Kashmir who spent more than five years in jail returned home on Wednesday after a court granted him bail in an ongoing terrorism case.

Aasif Sultan, a reporter with a magazine that is now shuttered, was first arrested in August 2018 accused of “harbouring known militants”.

Further charges under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) were levelled against him after he was accused of participating in a jail riot.

Sultan was briefly bailed in February but rearrested two days later on fresh charges under the act. A relative and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Sultan had been released again this week.

“He returned home today, but the bail conditions are very harsh. He is virtually banned from talking to anyone outside the family,” the relative said, declining to be named for fear of reprisal. Kunal Majumder of CPJ said on social media platform X that Sultan had been bailed on Tuesday.

A court document said that Sultan’s detention did “not serve any purpose” and granted his bail on strict conditions. Sultan was forbidden from travelling outside Kashmir, using encrypted communication apps such as WhatsApp and allowing anyone else to use his phone.

Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2024