Srinagar: Mirwaiz Umar Farooq led All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Thursday reiterated its call to release all political prisoners detained in jails in J&K and elsewhere in India.
In a press statement, APHC said that “thousands of Kashmiris including Hurriyat leaders and activists, young boys, journalists, lawyers and traders and ordinary Kashmiris are languishing on one fictitious charge or other in jails in J&K or outside such as Tihar, Agra, Kotbalwal, Jodhpur, Amphalla, Haryana Jails.”
“Neither are they being tried in courts nor any legal proceedings initiated. Their arbitrary detention is just being prolonged. Many among the prisoners are those who are being detained even after serving their sentences,” the APHC said.
It added that the he mental and physical condition of many among the prisoners is a matter of concern, while the fear of contracting the Covid 19 virus in cramped up spaces of jail is a constant fear among the prisoners and their families.
APHC said that all political prisoners should be released including those under arbitrary house detentions. It appealed to human rights groups, civil society member’s legal fraternity both in India and outside to raise its voice against these targeted detentions.
“The atmosphere of fear intimidation unaccountability and uncertainty pervades every sphere of life in J&K to silence dissent and demands. In such a situation one must be patient but not lose hope,” read the statement.
It added that “APHC stands firm on its principles and rights of the people of J&K.”
It also demanded the immediate release of its chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq who is under house arrest since August last year.
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