Asif Sultan

Asif Sultan, also known as Aasif Sultan, is a Kashmiri journalist who has been jailed by India since August 2018. On October 17, 2019, Sultan received the annual John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award by the National Press Club of America. In April 2022, Aasif was granted bail but not released, instead he was re-arrested and booked under the Public Safety Act.

He was released in May 2024, after receiving bail on three occasions.

History

Sultan worked as an assistant editor for the Srinagar-based monthly magazine Kashmir Narrator and covered politics and human rights. Sultan was repeatedly denied bail and his trial only began in June 2019. His detention has been criticized internationally, with critics viewing it as a sign of "worsening conditions for the press and citizenry in Kashmir", with Committee to Protect Journalists and various other international organizations demanding his release. By the time of his eventual release in 2024, Sultan had spent a total of 2,010 days in incarceration. In December 2023, the High Court quashed his detention under PSA, terming it "illegal and unsustainable".

Works

Awards John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award (2019)