A Srinagar-based freelance photojournalist, Masrat Zehra, has been booked by Jammu and Kashmir Police under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for "uploading anti-national" posts on social media.
According to statement by Cyber Police Station (Kashmir Zone), the Police received information that Masrat Zahra is uploading "anti-national" posts with criminal intention to induce the youth and to promote offences against public tranquillity.
"The Facebook user is also believed to be uploading photographs which can provoke the public to disturb law and order. The user is also uploading posts that tantamount to glorify the anti-national activities and dent the image of law enforcing agencies besides causing disaffection against the country," police said.
However, the police did not specify which Facebook posts were "anti-national" but the Police cited a picture she tweeted from 2019.
Here is the tweet:
The 26-year-old, Masrat Zehra, is an accomplished photojournalist, with about 4 years of experience. Her work has appeared in Indian and international publications, including The Washington Post, Al Jazeera, Caravan, The New Humanitarian, The Sun, Arab News and others.
Speaking to The Scroll, Zehra that she was asked to immediately report to the Cyber Police Station in Srinagar on Saturday evening. However, Zehra couldn't go as she did not possess a curfew pass amid the lockdown enforced due to coronavirus. Later, she called senior journalists and office bearers of Kashmir Press Club. They told her that the matter had been solved and she didn’t need to go to the station.
Meanwhile, on Monday, Zehra said that she did not receive any calls from the police. However, she saw some tweets doing rounds and later confirmed with her colleageues that she has been booked under UAPA.
