{"id":50811,"date":"2026-01-21T09:52:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T09:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/?p=50811"},"modified":"2026-01-21T09:52:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T09:52:13","slug":"journalism-in-public-interest-cannot-be-criminalized-aga-syed-hassan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/2026\/01\/21\/journalism-in-public-interest-cannot-be-criminalized-aga-syed-hassan","title":{"rendered":"Journalism in public interest cannot be criminalized: Aga Syed Hassan"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Srinagar: Aga Syed Hassan Moosavi Al-Safavi, President of Jammu and Kashmir Anjuman-e-Sharie Shian, on Monday condemned the “intimidation” of journalists, stating that reporting in the public interest “cannot be criminalized.”<\/p>\n

In a brief statement, the religious leader criticized the practice of summoning reporters to police stations and allegedly forcing them to sign bonds or affidavits. He described these actions as an assault on democratic values and called for an immediate end to the harassment of the press.<\/p>\n

Aga Hassan also warned against the use of religious spaces for surveillance, urging the government to “reaffirm its commitment to constitutional rights” and the freedom of the press.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Srinagar: Aga Syed Hassan Moosavi Al-Safavi, President of Jammu and Kashmir Anjuman-e-Sharie Shian, on Monday condemned the “intimidation” of journalists, stating that reporting in the public interest “cannot be criminalized.” In a brief statement, the religious leader criticized the practice of summoning reporters to police stations and allegedly forcing them to sign bonds or affidavits. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-jammu-kashmir"],"yoast_head":"\nJournalism in public interest cannot be criminalized: Aga Syed Hassan - South Asian Wire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southasianwire.com\/wire\/2026\/01\/21\/journalism-in-public-interest-cannot-be-criminalized-aga-syed-hassan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Journalism in public interest cannot be criminalized: Aga Syed Hassan - 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Born in Manchester of Pakistan, Faisalabad, studied broadcasting at Hilversum Academy, The Netherlands, along with computer and Media studies in Islamabad. He has contributed to Radio Iran and Radio Pakistan. He has played a significant role in adapting Urdu for digital platforms. He oversees the administrative and technical operations of Al-Qamar Online and SAARC Countries News Agency, South Asian Wire. 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