| News Details |
| DUJ welcomes SC’s granting of bail to journalist Syed Kazmi | |
New Delhi/Jammu, October 23(Scoop News)- The DUJ welcomes the Supreme Court’s granting of bail to journalist Syed Mohammad Ahmad Kazmi, after seven months in prison.
The DUJ in a statement said that Kazmi, a 50-year-old scribe, was working for an Iranian news agency in Delhi and also for the state-run Doordarshan, He is accused of providing information leading to an attack on an Israeli diplomat. He has denied the charges against him.
In the last two days the DUJ office bearers and members including Sujata Madhok, S.K.Pande, Javed Naqvi, John Dayal, Seema Mustafa, Venkatesan, Jal Khambata, Ifthikhar Gilan visited Kazmi's family and felicitated him. While hailing the Supreme Court verdict they decided to work jointly with secular groups on common issues of solidarity with Kazmi. DUJ called for a wide united front to look into all aspects of the Kazmi case and its ramifications for journalists at large. They also called upon the media to ensure that all sides of the case are reported in public interest.
The DUJ believes that journalists have to maintain all sorts of contacts and sources for their stories. Such connections for professional purposes should not be misconstrued as active collusion or connivance in dubious activities including crime.
DUJ follows the Constitutional and legal principle that a person must be treated as innocent until and unless convicted as guilty. We advise our members, particularly those on the crime and legal beats, to bear this dictum in mind while filing their reports and stories. We should be wary of stories planted by police and by vested interests.
Sensationalism is an easy trap to fall into but we must remember that we are dealing with the lives and reputations of people.
According to statement,Kazmi was arrested on March 6 by the Special Cell of Delhi Police on the charge of helping Iranian agents to conduct a reconnaissance of the area around the Israeli embassy in his car. A motorcyclist, allegedly Iranian, had planted a bomb on a car of the Israeli embassy on February 13, causing injuries to the occupants including the wife of the Israeli Defence Attache. Police named four Iranians in the charge-sheet filed belatedly last month. The Iranians, the police say, fled India after the attack. Israel had blamed Iran for the attack but Tehran denied any involvement. The arrest of Kazmi came allegedly under constant Israeli pressure on the government.
Kazmi's son Shauzab said from day one they held that his father is innocent, and the Supreme Court has upheld that belief by granting bail. "I believe in the judicial system…. And I am thankful to all those who stood with us," he said.
The Jamia Teachers Solidarity Group visited the Kazmi family.
The Kazmi Solidarity Committee that has been agitating in the capital as also in towns of Uttar Pradesh welcomed the relief from the Supreme Court. In a statement, it has accused the Special Cell of orchestrating a media trial to establish his guilt by planting malicious stories of his "confession" of the crime. Among the stories published was the charge of receiving foreign remittances of Rs 21 lakhs but the chargesheet only shows recovery of $ 1250 (about Rs 70,000) as alleged payment to Kazmi for supplying information to the attackers.
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