Qazi Shibli is News Editor at The Kashmiriyat, a platform where he works day and night to raise the voices of Kashmiris, whose voices are being stifled by the government. Through his platform, he deliberates upon issues, putting form honest, bold, and critical points of view.

In July 2019, Mr. Shibli was detained in UP’s Bareilly after he tweeted regarding the deployment of additional troops in Jammu and Kashmir. The government tried to curb the freedom of the press since it was planning to unconstitutionally scrap off article 370. Mr. Shibli was released only this April 13, after nine months of detainment.

On 31st of July, 2020, he was detained again at the Shergari police station where he showed up post a summon call from the cyber police the day before (Eid). He is now been shited to central jail Shrinagar.  He has been booked under 107 Security for Keeping Peace in other cases, a law that allows pre-emptive detention of a person based on suspicion.

Meanwhile, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), has demanded immediate release of Mr. Shibli. 

The government is relentlessly trying to curb the freedom of press shamefully, especially in Kashmir. Whenever anyone who voices their opinion about the casteist and communalist government, they are unconstitutionally jailed. Their fundamental right to freedom of expression is being restricted along with the fundamental right to life in the times of coronavirus.

The jails are already overcrowded, and the number of political activists the government is detaining is inhumane. The irony is that the United Nations had already advised all the countries to release the political prisoners whose crimes are not proven due to safety measures.