Fahad Shah, 33, founder-editor of The Kashmir Walla (TKW), was back home on Thursday morning following his release from the Kot Bhalwal Jail-Jammu, six days after a double-bench of J&K High Court granted him bail.
Mr. Shah was arrested in February 2022 and stayed in jail for 21 months. He was back-to-back booked in four different cases later. “It was a very tough phase. Jail changes a lot in you. It will take time to get back to normal. I am happy I was released. It has come as a relief for my family, friends, colleagues with whom I have worked over these years,” Mr. Shah told The Hindu.
His arrest in 2022 evoked sharp reactions from the media fraternity. At least 50 press freedom organisations, human rights groups and publications wrote to J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, on February 14, 2022, and pressed for his immediate release.
