Monitoring Desk: The father of Masrat Zahra, a recipient of the Anja Niedringhaus Courage in Photojournalism Award for showing Indian genocide in Indian Occupied Kashmir was harassed by local police.
Masrat Zahra who is currently in Germany as a “politically persecuted” person accused the police of targeting her family due to their associations with her. She took to Twitter to register her outrage and shared pictures of the injuries her father had incurred as proof of the allegation.
Posting the picture of my father who was thrashed by police. One can clearly see his bruised arm. I didn’t want to post these pictures but yesterday’s police statement is ridiculous and they cannot thrash people in the day and at the end of day when questioned deny the thrashing. pic.twitter.com/TM6wzEXUdO
— Masrat Zahra (@Masratzahra) July 27, 2021
On July 30, Photojournalist Masrat Zahra informed media that the police assaulted her father in order to intimidate her. The incident took place on July 25 when Masrat Zahra’s father, Mohammad Amin Dar, a retired driver in Srinagar alongside his wife Fatima looking to hail a rikshaw were confronted by five police officers.
So,families of journalists who report ground reality of Kashmir will be dealt differently by JKP. How low can they stoop to muzzle the voice of people? This is height of lawlessness.
I have won awards for my work, reporting the ground reality of Kashmir.https://t.co/WRK2xrYCNP— Masrat Zahra (@Masratzahra) July 26, 2021
Last year, Masrat Zahra was charged under Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) while at the same time facing threats from armed resistance groups in the region for collaborating with security forces. Speaking to an Indian news outlet, Masrat said, “I am being targeted because of my identity as a woman and also because of my work, which focuses on the brutalities faced by women and children in Kashmir. If I go back to Kashmir, I feel the government may not allow me to leave the country again.”
