Plight of Kashmiri prisoners highly condemnable: Joint Hurriyat

Srinagar, Aug 13: Joint Hurriyat leadership comprising of Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Muhammad Umar Farooq, and Muhammad Yasin Malik in a statement on Monday said that persecuting families of opponents and hardships on those on jails is nothing but a “cowardice and despotism.”
The spokesman said that from a spree of arrests is going on unabated and thousands of young, as well as old, are being put behind bars.
The Leadership said that some months back, DG of police issued a statement and urged upon warring parties not to involve families into their hostilities.
“Even Joint Hurriyat at that time echoed same assertions and urged everyone spare families. But today villages, towns and localities of Kashmir especially in southern districts of Kashmir are witnessing a reign of fresh arrests wherein family members of those in the armed and political struggle are being arrested,” they said.
Joint Hurriyat said that scores of family members of those in resistance have been arrested from Tral, Pulwama, Shupian, Kulgam, Bijbehara, Sonawari and other areas and are being “tortured, beaten and humiliated” in lockups by police, SOG and other forces which is exactly opposite to the views expressed by DGP and are highly condemnable.
Joint Hurriyat said that Kashmir is a police state every kind of political dissent is being crushed with military might.
“Even convicts are allowed to join bereavement of their kith and kin but such is the cruel attitude of Indian rulers and their Kashmiri stooges that normal procedures are undermined by authorities, “they said.
Joint Hurriyat said that India being a signatory to the Geneva Convention on political prisoners has an obligation to respect the rights of prisoners but as in case of other human rights, India has trampled this right too and is crushing Kashmiri inmates ruthlessly.