Srinagar, Feb 13 – A court in Jammu and Kashmir has granted bail to Abdul Aala Fazili, a PhD scholar who was arrested in 2022 over an article he allegedly wrote in 2011, which authorities claimed was “seditious” and incited unrest in the region.
Fazili, detained for nearly two years and nine months, was released after the court found the evidence linking him to the article to be weak. The 3rd Additional Sessions Judge in Jammu, handling cases under anti-terror laws, ruled that the prolonged incarceration of the accused could not be justified if he were to be acquitted at the end of the trial.
The State Investigation Agency (SIA) had arrested Fazili in Srinagar in April 2022, accusing him of writing Shackles of Slavery Will Break, an article published in The Kashmir Walla, an online magazine. The publication’s editor, Fahad Shah, was also arrested in connection with the piece.
Authorities alleged that the article glorified terrorism and sought to incite violence among the youth in the region. However, the court refuted these claims, stating that the content did not promote armed rebellion or undermine state authority. It also noted that the government had taken no action against the article for over a decade until the registration of the case in 2022.
“The delay in initiating action suggests that the article did not aggravate law and order issues or contribute to militancy,” the court observed in its order. It further noted that Fazili had no prior criminal record and that his co-accused, who allegedly published the article, had already been granted bail.
As part of his bail conditions, Fazili must report weekly to the nearest police station in Mahore and attend court hearings regularly.
The Chenab Times News Desk