Background
Dr. Fazili is a senior research fellow in pharmaceutical science at Kashmir University and was a recipient of the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) Maulana Azad National Fellowship from 2016 to 2021. The scholar is a prominent voice in the human rights community. The Union government paid him Rs 30,000 for five years till March 31, 2021, through the Maulana Azad National Fellowship to complete his PhD.
He was arrested from his home in Humhama in Srinagar by the State Investigation Agency (SIA) of Jammu and Kashmir for publishing an article titled “The Shackles of Slavery Will Break” in November 2011 for a monthly magazine, The Kashmir Walla.
The magazine’s editor-in-chief Fahad Shah is also languishing in jail under the draconian Public Safety Act, under which a person can be detained for up to two years without a trial.
The State Investigation Agency cited the article as seditious and highly “provocative,” propagating the “false narrative” of secessionism to dismantle India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The anti-terror law, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), was invoked, describing the article as a deliberate attempt to encourage the Kashmiri youth to subvert the Indian establishment by glorifying terrorism and causing unrest in Kashmir.
Human rights organizations denounced the arrest of Fazili, accusing the Indian government of trampling the voices of dissent. Civil rights groups have termed UAPA “Kafkaesque” considering the draconian nature of the legislation.
Charges and allegations
Section 13 (advocating, abetting, advising, or inciting unlawful activity) and Section 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. 121 (waging war against the Government of India), Section 124 (spreading disaffection against the government), Section 153-B (imputations and assertions prejudicial to national integration), and Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy)
Current Status
The NIA court in Jammu denied his bail in July 2022.
Not released yet.