Justice for All Canada Condemns India’s Political Vendetta Against Yasin Malik |
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May 30th, 2022
Prominent Kashmiri pro-independence leader, Yasin Malik, was handed a rigorous life imprisonment sentence for participating in self-determination activism for Kashmir. Under India’s BJP regime, state courts once again used draconian sedition laws to stifle dissent and expression regarding India’s ongoing occupation of Kashmir. The Indian government’s Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) criminalizes all forms of resistance to Indian authority oppression, including non-violent expression, which Malik strongly espoused.
In Kashmir, people arbitrarily detained are often booked under lawless laws like the Public Safety Act (PSA) and the UAPA. The tyranny of the Indian state can be seen in how it first commits brutalities and then jails those who protest against it. Detentions won’t deter Kashmiris from demanding their fundamental right to self-determination.
In 2020 and 2021, Canadian Members of Parliament presented four petitions in the House of Commons that urged the Canadian government to acknowledge and take action against India’s BJP-ruled government for its multiple crimes against humanity in Kashmir.
Malik is the Chairperson of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front. His unlawful imprisonment by the Indian state is a typical example of isolating Kashmiri leaders from their communities, depriving them of leadership and guidance, so they don’t hinder India’s settler-colonial project in Kashmir.
During his trial, Malik protested the charges saying, “If seeking Azadi (freedom) is a crime, then I am ready to accept this crime and its consequences.”
Once news of Malik’s sentencing was announced, numerous Kashmiris gathered in his hometown of Maisuma, raising slogans in favour of freedom and justice. Soon after, Jammu and Kashmir police arrested ten protesters who were peacefully challenging the life imprisonment sentence of their leader.
Mali, 56, has a small daughter and a wife who have no communication with him. He is also a chronic heart patient who suffers from kidney stones and facial paralysis.
Justice for All Canada condemns the life sentence against Yasin Malik and demands that the Government of India release all Kashmiri political prisoners, including Yasin Malik, languishing in jails across India and under house arrest. We demand the immediate revocation of all PSA and UAPA detentions. We demand the release of women, the elderly, pre-trial detainees, and undertrials on bail (including political prisoners and those detained from civil society).
Prominent Kashmiri pro-independence leader, Yasin Malik, was handed a rigorous life imprisonment sentence for participating in self-determination activism for Kashmir. Under India’s BJP regime, state courts once again used draconian sedition laws to stifle dissent and expression regarding India’s ongoing occupation of Kashmir. The Indian government’s Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) criminalizes all forms of resistance to Indian authority oppression, including non-violent expression, which Malik strongly espoused.
In Kashmir, people arbitrarily detained are often booked under lawless laws like the Public Safety Act (PSA) and the UAPA. The tyranny of the Indian state can be seen in how it first commits brutalities and then jails those who protest against it. Detentions won’t deter Kashmiris from demanding their fundamental right to self-determination.
In 2020 and 2021, Canadian Members of Parliament presented four petitions in the House of Commons that urged the Canadian government to acknowledge and take action against India’s BJP-ruled government for its multiple crimes against humanity in Kashmir.
Malik is the Chairperson of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front. His unlawful imprisonment by the Indian state is a typical example of isolating Kashmiri leaders from their communities, depriving them of leadership and guidance, so they don’t hinder India’s settler-colonial project in Kashmir.
During his trial, Malik protested the charges saying, “If seeking Azadi (freedom) is a crime, then I am ready to accept this crime and its consequences.”
Once news of Malik’s sentencing was announced, numerous Kashmiris gathered in his hometown of Maisuma, raising slogans in favour of freedom and justice. Soon after, Jammu and Kashmir police arrested ten protesters who were peacefully challenging the life imprisonment sentence of their leader.
Mali, 56, has a small daughter and a wife who have no communication with him. He is also a chronic heart patient who suffers from kidney stones and facial paralysis.
Justice for All Canada condemns the life sentence against Yasin Malik and demands that the Government of India release all Kashmiri political prisoners, including Yasin Malik, languishing in jails across India and under house arrest. We demand the immediate revocation of all PSA and UAPA detentions. We demand the release of women, the elderly, pre-trial detainees, and undertrials on bail (including political prisoners and those detained from civil society).