Calling for the Release of Kashmiri Prisoners Facing Crimes Against Humanity |
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June 7th 2021
Justice For All Canada echoes calls for the immediate release of Kashmiri political prisoners amid India’s devastating pandemic crisis. There are mounting concerns about the ill-treatment and wellbeing of thousands of Kashmiris arbitrarily detained in India and Jammu and Kashmir.
Since pre-COVID lockdown began on August 5th, 2019, thousands of Kashmiris have been detained and tortured. Several thousand remain arbitrarily jailed.
Last week, the Jammu & Kashmir High Court Bar Association of Srinagar expressed distress over the deteriorating health of Kashmiri politicians imprisoned in Tihar jail (New Delhi). These individuals were detained for speaking against India’s illegal occupation of Kashmir.
The following Kashmiris, including many others, have been held without due process;
Reporting has been criminalized and censorship institutionalized in Kashmir. Kashmiri journalists are often harassed and questioned by authorities. They regularly face arrests and detention for simply doing their job.
Prisoner’s families report their relatives suffering under life-threatening conditions. Some have succumbed to illnesses that were left untreated by officials. Kashmiri prisoners are being housed in cramped, coronavirus-infested quarters. Kashmir’s High Court Bar Association raised concerns over prison authorities’ lack of empathy and disregard for the safety of those detained.
“The failure of these prisons to fulfill basic medical treatment and safeguards from COVID-19 is inhumane and violates their human rights. Canada has shamefully neglected Kashmir since its 1949 UN resolution proposing a referendum, which India eventually denied,” explained Taha Ghayyur, Executive Director of Justice For All Canada.
Emergency Demands and Recommendations
We call on the Canadian government to end its silence on India’s crimes against humanity in Kashmir, including:
Justice For All Canada echoes calls for the immediate release of Kashmiri political prisoners amid India’s devastating pandemic crisis. There are mounting concerns about the ill-treatment and wellbeing of thousands of Kashmiris arbitrarily detained in India and Jammu and Kashmir.
Since pre-COVID lockdown began on August 5th, 2019, thousands of Kashmiris have been detained and tortured. Several thousand remain arbitrarily jailed.
Last week, the Jammu & Kashmir High Court Bar Association of Srinagar expressed distress over the deteriorating health of Kashmiri politicians imprisoned in Tihar jail (New Delhi). These individuals were detained for speaking against India’s illegal occupation of Kashmir.
The following Kashmiris, including many others, have been held without due process;
- Shabbir Shah—facing indefinite imprisonment for over 30 years
- Asiya Andrabi—journalist
- Asif Sultan
- Nahida Nasreen
- Mohammad Yaseen Malik
- Nayeem Khan
- Bashir Ahmad Bhat
- Aftab Hilali
Reporting has been criminalized and censorship institutionalized in Kashmir. Kashmiri journalists are often harassed and questioned by authorities. They regularly face arrests and detention for simply doing their job.
Prisoner’s families report their relatives suffering under life-threatening conditions. Some have succumbed to illnesses that were left untreated by officials. Kashmiri prisoners are being housed in cramped, coronavirus-infested quarters. Kashmir’s High Court Bar Association raised concerns over prison authorities’ lack of empathy and disregard for the safety of those detained.
“The failure of these prisons to fulfill basic medical treatment and safeguards from COVID-19 is inhumane and violates their human rights. Canada has shamefully neglected Kashmir since its 1949 UN resolution proposing a referendum, which India eventually denied,” explained Taha Ghayyur, Executive Director of Justice For All Canada.
Emergency Demands and Recommendations
We call on the Canadian government to end its silence on India’s crimes against humanity in Kashmir, including:
- Demanding the release of 14,000 Kashmiri prisoners on compassionate grounds
- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Foreign Minister Marc Garneau, and the Subcommittee on International Human Rights, advocating for the security and freedom of Kashmiri prisoners facing arbitrary detention
- Minister Marc Garneau and UN representative Bob Rae promoting an end to brutalities perpetrated by Indian state forces through impunity laws, enforced disappearances, criminalization of dissent, and sexualized violence