![]() ![]() He was initially arrested in January 2022.We are not aware of the specifics of why our website has been blocked in India why our Facebook page has been removed and why our Twitter account has been withheld. Shah remains imprisoned in this case in Jammu’s Kot Bhalwal jail – 300 kms away from home.Sajad Gul, who worked briefly with us as a trainee reporter, remains in a prison in Uttar Pradesh under the Public Safety Act. Since then, our interim editor has been summoned and questioned by the SIA multiple times. During the raid, most of our gadgets were seized, reporters were interrogated, and all documents were scrutinized. Three FIRs under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and one Public Safety Act have been registered against him.In April 2022, the State Investigation Agency (SIA) raided our office and Shah’s home in Srinagar for an investigation into an opinion piece published 11 years ago, in 2011. He went on to be arrested five times within four months. As had our Twitter account, “in response to a legal demand.” In tandem with this move, we have also now been served an eviction notice by the landlord of our office in Srinagar and we are in process of evicting the office.Fahad Shah, our founder-editor, was arrested in February 2022 over the coverage of a gunfight. It was the beginning of the saga of his revolving door arrests. The Kashmir Walla is an independent news site based in Srinagar that has been covering developments in Jammu and Kashmir without fear or favour for more than 12 years.For the past 18 months, however, we’ve lived a horrifying nightmare – with the arrest and imprisonment of our founder-editor, Fahad Shah, and the harassment of our reporters and staff, amid an already inhospitable climate for journalism in the region.On Saturday, August 19, 2023, we woke up to another deadly blow of finding access to our website and social media accounts blocked.When we contacted our server provider on Saturday morning to ask why was inaccessible, they informed us that our website has been blocked in India by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology under the IT Act, 2000.Next, we discovered that our Facebook page – with nearly half a million followers – had been removed.Here we include the full statement from The Kashmir Walla as both a declaration of our support and part of our continuing efforts to see justice and basic human decency upheld. This weekend, we received word that Indian authorities have now shut down the newspaper that Fahad founded and gave his freedom for.The Monitor is working with other news organizations and press freedom advocates to secure Fahad’s release. In addition to being an organizational hub for members of 1/7 Vietnam, this website is a source of information for families of 1/7 members, active duty Marines and members of the public who want to learn about the 1st Battalion of the 7th Marine Regiment and its role in the Vietnam war and the men who served in that unit.Just last week in this space, we highlighted the need for press freedom and the plight of one of our friends and colleagues in Kashmir, Fahad Shah, who has been imprisoned in India for more than a year on specious charges. Our reunions provide an opportunity for Marines to visit and share time with those with whom they served 50 years ago and to honor the 566 Marines and Corpsmen who made the ultimate sacrifice. It is our pleasure to share with them the history of 1/7 in Vietnam. We are often joined at our gatherings by Marines currently on active duty. The Marine Corps is unique and rich with tradition that we respect. Family members of those who served with 1/7 are also invited to attend and meet the men who served with their loved one. The 2020 reunion will take place in Palm Springs, CA, with a day trip to 29 Palms to meet current 1/7 Marines. We meet every two years at a time around Memorial Day. If you are a Marine or Corpsman who served in 1/7 in Vietnam we would like to hear from you and we invite you to join us. The 1/7 Marine Vietnam Association is comprised of the Marines and Corpsmen who served in that Battalion in the Republic of South Vietnam from 1965-1970. Welcome to the webpage of the First Battalion of the Seventh Marine Regiment - Vietnam. ![]()
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