Kashmiri journalist Majid Hyderi claims the police threatened that he would be “killed under mysterious circumstances” if he did not withdraw a complaint, after which he fled to a courtroom seeking refuge and protection. This case illustrates the police crackdown on reporters in Kashmir that has been ongoing since 2019, characterised by surveillance, intimidation and arrests. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns these acts, calls for his safety to be guaranteed, and demands an independent investigation into the alleged abuses.
“RSF calls on the Jammu and Kashmir authorities and the Indian government to ensure freelance journalist Majid Hyderi is protected without delay, put a stop to all forms of police harassment against him, and entrust the examination of his allegations to a genuinely independent body. No journalist should have to seek refuge in a courtroom to escape police threats and ask a judge to save their life.”
Although he finally regained his liberty a year ago after spending 527 days in detention, Majid Hyderi insists that the police harassment against him never stopped. The freelance journalist, working with the magazine News Tell, was arrested in September 2023 in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. He was then detained for nearly a year and a half under the Public Safety Act, on fabricated charges, according to RSF information. Frequently invited to participate in television debates, Majid Hyderi had notably exposed a fraud case within the local administration. The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh ultimately ruled against his detention in a landmark verdict, stating that criticism of government policies could not justify preventive detention.
However, since his release from prison, the journalist has continued to be targeted by police. Over the months, he says he has been regularly summoned to various police stations where he is sometimes forced to “sit idle for hours,” on the grounds that he had been registered as "a repeat offender" in police records. In a document seen by RSF, the police then contacted the social media network X to have his account suspended, notably claiming he was still locked up. In January 2026, fearing he would be targeted by a fabricated case a second time, Majid Hyderi filed a petition with the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, citing a “threat to life.” He also requested a federal investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the circumstances of his arrest on spurious charges and his detention in 2023.
It was after this formal request that the intimidation by police took a particularly serious turn. “Senior police officers started harassing me to withdraw the case,” the journalist told RSF. He says he was summoned to a police station on 17 February 2026 and held there “all day without food or water,” before being ordered to return the following day. He was then taken to meet senior officers who allegedly ordered him to withdraw his request immediately. After that, the journalist says he was “bundled in a police vehicle and taken to the High Court".
Once at the High Court, Majid Hyderi refused to withdraw his complaint. As he attempted to leave, he claims police officers tried to drag him by force towards their vehicle outside the court, threatening he would be “killed under mysterious circumstances.” “Finding no other option, I literally jumped into a courtroom where hearings were underway and cried before the judge who listened patiently”, he recounts. The judge then referred the journalist to the judicial registrar, instructing the registrar to ensure that no harm came to the reporter. The police officer concerned was subsequently summoned by the Office of the Registrar of the High Court and promised that no harm would be done to the journalist.
In a ruling dated 2 March 2026, the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh instructed the local government to refrain from harassing the journalist and taking any action against him without due legal process. The next hearing concerning the journalist’s initial complaint is scheduled for 4 July. The local authorities have not responded to the RSF request for comment.
However, Majid Hyderi’s relief remains fragile: “The harassment has only paused because of the Court intervention, but I fear that I will be killed soon or jailed in a fake case because it is the only way to keep me silenced.”
It has been six years since the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s status as an autonomous state, and the territory is now not just a news desert, but a black hole. The journalists who strive to continue reporting against the odds are under constant pressure and up against serious obstacles.
