On a windy Tuesday afternoon, sitting in a small café in Srinagar, Kamran Yusuf’s friend and colleague, Vikar Syed, 25, recounts the day when the Kashmiri photojournalist was arrested: “We had just gone shopping for Eid and the next thing I knew, Kamran had been picked up by the NIA [National Investigation Agency]”.

On Monday, Kamran, 22, who the NIA thinks is “not a real journalist”, was finally granted bail. The court order said, “He had been carrying out his duties as a photojournalist”. After six long months, Kamran will finally return home to his mother in south Kashmir’s Pulwama.

It cannot be ignored that the bail was granted a day after J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti tweeted that she had spoken to the Home Minister and urged him to “look into the case”.

On September 5, 2017, Kamran was summoned by the NIA. He was one among 12 others who were being investigated by the NIA in relation to cases of funding terror and secessionist activities in Kashmir.  On January 18, 2018, after a six-month-long probe, the Agency filed a 1,279-page chargesheet in Delhi’s Patiala High Court, against 12 Kashmiri separatists and businessmen, including Kamran. He was also suspected of being involved in stone pelting, mobilising youth to pelt stones and waging war against India.

On January 24, 2018, the details of Kamran’s chargesheet became public. More than producing a case against him, the chargesheet served as a ‘lecture’ from the NIA to the media.

Kamran was accused of not being a “real journalist” because he did not cover “developmental activity of any government department” or any “inauguration of a hospital or a school” or “statement of any political party in power”. The chargesheet went on to say: “Had he been a real journalist/stringer by profession, he may have performed one of the moral duty of a journalist which is to cover the activities and happening (good or bad) in his jurisdiction”.

The court order issued by special judge Tarun Sahrawat stated that Kamran’s presence at multiple stone-pelting incidents was not enough evidence to prove that he was involved in the act. Apart from claiming lack of evidence in Kamran’s involvement in terror-related activities, the order also clearly notes that “no explosive or otherwise has been recovered”.

No support from the fraternity

According to Vikar Syed, the last six months proved how the media, barring a few publications, did not stand up for one of their own.

One incident that proved to be a huge let down was when one of Kashmir’s local English daily, Greater Kashmir (GK) disowned Kamran who was a regular contributor.

In March 2017, the daily had published a report where they mentioned Kamran as a “GK lensman” who had been thrashed by security forces in his hometown. A day after he was picked up by the NIA, the copy was edited to read “photojournalist Kamran Yusuf”. Today, the report no longer exists on the GK site.

When Newslaundry reached out to the daily, they said there is “no question of disassociating”. “The online team had mistakenly designated him as “GK staffer” in the news about his arrest. The news was pulled down because he was not a staffer. In fact, he did not have a GK I-card. As far as his work is concerned, it is there in the newspaper,” said a senior employee who did not wish to be named. He added that blaming GK of disowning Kamran was “part of a smear campaign against the newspaper”.

Kamran has received support from international media. Syed said apart from The Indian Express, The Wire and a few local organisations, not many media houses followed his story. “Had the Kashmir Editors Guild pushed for more stories it might have helped Kamran,” he said.

Bashir Manzar, general secretary of Kashmir Editors Guild, told Newslaundry that they had been trying to pressure the government by repeatedly asking for Kamran’s fair trial. “We never said he was innocent but whatever was happening was completely unfair and we stand by him,” he said.

Support from political parties

In the initial stages of the case, Kamran’s mother had gone to meet CM Mufti who had said: “She would look into the matter”. “Be it National Conference or the People’s Democratic Party, not a single party offered us any support. If she [the CM] had made the request to the HMO a few months back, it would have been of some use. Why did she wait for so long? Is it because by now, everyone knows that there is nothing against Kamran?” asked Syed.

Tanvir Sadiq, the political secretary to Omar Abdullah, the working president of the Opposition, National Conference, told Newslaundry that the case seems like a “fixed match” because the bail was granted to Kamran a day after the CM’s request to the HMO. “It’s like the age-old mufti doctrine of getting people arrested then getting them released. Does Delhi really think that releasing him will give her a facelift? And now why is Mufti taking credit for something that the honourable court has done?” asked Sadiq.

He also added that Home Minister Rajnath Singh must answer why Kamran was arrested in the first place. “By doing all this, aren’t you further alienating the youth of Kashmir?” asked Sadiq.

Manzar also raised questions regarding the motive behind Kamran’s arrest. “They didn’t touch a single journalist from any established organisation. It is as if they cleverly singled out a young but very active, freelance journalist from a poor financial background to send a strong intimidation [message] to journalists reporting in, from and on Kashmir,” he said. Manzar also questioned the credibility of the court by asking if it was working merely under political pressure.

Both, the PDP and the NIA remained unavailable for comment.

“Conflict is our beat and we’re doing our job”

“Kam was like my brother,” said Syed. In south Kashmir, it was a common sight to see the two speeding off on their bikes, cameras dangling across their shoulders rushing to the site of any incident that occurred in the area.

Kamran and his mother, Rubeena Yusuf, a divorcee, live with his grandfather in Pulwama. In late 2015, due to a financial crisis at home, Kamran dropped out of college. He approached Syed for a job involving photography. “He joined me and over the next one year, he became one of the best photojournalists in south Kashmir. He was usually the first to reach any spot and many big media houses using his pictures,” said Syed.

A few days before he was summoned by the NIA, Syed said that he and Kamran had gone shopping for Eid. “When I was told that he had been picked up, I thought it was because he had put up a video he took of protesters burning the Indian flag. He had taken down the video ten minutes after uploading it. But I thought that maybe the local police had seen it and called him to give him a warning,” he said.

According to Syed, Kamran used to put up many pictures and videos of protests and his huge online following would share them. This had often irritated local police who, on many occasions, had told him that he was “showing too much of the conflict” and warned him to take them down on many occasions. “I also had told him to be careful,” he said.

Nevertheless, Syed said nobody had even imagined what Kamran would go through for the next six months.

Syed met Kamran in Delhi, two months after he was taken into custody. “He hugged, kissed me and cried. He asked if people still remembered him or not. He also said that he had severe eye pain,” he said.

Like many other journalists in the Valley, the fear of being summoned by the NIA gripped Syed too. “My mother keeps telling me to quit this profession but this is what I do best,” he said.

Syed also added that he was shocked when he read the NIA’s ‘lecture’ on journalism in Kamran’s chargesheet. “All journalists have a beat, a theme that they are expected to cover. We are photojournalists from south Kashmir, one of the most brutally affected regions in the Kashmir conflict. Every other day there is hartal, encounters or civilian deaths. This was our beat and we were doing our job,” he said.  

A battle yet to be won

According to the NIA, Kamran was not a “professional” because he did not receive training from any institute.

While speaking to Newslaundry, Kamran’s lawyer, Warisha Farasat called the chargesheet “absurd”. Farasat also pointed out how the Agency has tried to accuse Kamran of not being a permanent employee of any news organisation. “We never contested that. We always maintained that he was a freelance journalist. There are many freelance journalists and stringers in Kashmir and they have the same rights that any other journalist has. The NIA is making bizarre statements in their attempt to discredit Kamran,” she said.

Right now, Kashmir awaits the return of Kamran. “I want to him to come home to his mother and rest. I will also cook his favourite chicken curry for him. It has been a long six months for us,” said Syed.

Nevertheless, Kamran’s fight is yet to be called a victory. After the bail, the trail is going to proceed.

Image credits: 
Screenshot of Greater Kashmir and the banner: Scroll.in
Cover image: Vikar Syed