KIIR Webinar urged international community & UNHR to securing early release of political prisoners of IoK & ensure fair trial
Islamabad: Kashmir Institute of International Relations (KIIR) in collaboration with World Muslim Congress organized a webinar on the sidelines of the 46th session of the United Nations human rights council on 12th of March 2021. Webinar titled “Absence of fair trial for political prisoners, a case study Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir” was addressed by International human rights and humanitarian law experts, academicians, and Kashmiri activists including Dr. Iqtidar Cheema FCMI Member United Nations Global Steering Committee, Julie Ward former Member of the European Parliament, Duke Salman Khan South, Arjun Singh Sethi Professor of Law, a community activist, civil rights lawyer, and writer based in Washington, D.C. Khaled A. Beydoun is Professor of Law at the University of Arkansas School of Law, Syed Faiz Naqshbandi Convener APHC, Mohammad Umer Butt Kashmiri Activist, Prof. Shugafta Ashraf University of Kotli Azad Kashmir and Altaf Hussain Wani Chairman Kashmir Institute of International Relations.
The speakers of the webinar India has failed to comply with the international standards of fair trial. Fair trial is one of the fundamentals of the Universal declaration of human rights and other human rights conventions, Speakers added
India is misusing anti-terror legislation against the political leaders and civil society actor and the common man in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The draconian legislation like PSA, AFSPA, TADA, UAPA & NSA are used to suppress the people’s legitimate right to self-determination, these laws have facilitated torture, enforced disappearances and other human rights violations and are obstructing the fair trial. The people are held arbitrary without trial for years, without any reparation, which is against the international human rights standards the speakers said. They expressed their dismay on the continued detention of Kashmir leaders, Muhammad Yasin Malik, Shabir Ahmed Shah , Nayeem Ahmed Khan , Massrart ALAM Butt , Mtr, Asiya Andrabi , Dr. Qasim Faktoo, Muhammad Ashraf Sahrayie and others . while referring to different reports of International human rights organisations the speakers called for action-oriented mechanisms to put an end to the injustices met to the people of Indian occupied Kashmir.
The speakers said Kashmiri leaders have since long been persecuted for their expression of their conscientiously held political beliefs and for raising the banner of revolt against injustices and in discrimination meted out to the people of Jammu and Kashmir at the hands of occupation authorities.
Highlighting their life long struggle for emancipation and empowerment of Kashmiri people he said. “It was quite unfortunate that the trio had to spend a major portion of their lives in the Indian jails, detention, and interrogation centres just for raising their voice for voiceless Kashmiris, which is unfortunately deemed as the biggest crime in the occupied Kashmir”.
These leaders he said have been persistently advocating for a just and peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute through peaceful means of dialogue and diplomacy. “During their years’ long the political struggle they have endured trials and tribulations, imprisonments and detentions in pursuit of their peoples’ fundamental rights”, he said adding that this was the reason they were being victimised and made to suffer in jails despite suffering from acute ailments far away from their homeland, where they could neither be easily accessed by their family members nor their party workers.
The continuous detention has taken a heavy toll on their physical and mental health. “There are reports that they have been kept 6×8 prion-cells in abysmal conditions are being denied their rights including proper food and right to receive proper medical care, which constitutes a grave violation of the United Nations Charter, international law and other human rights treaties”.
The panellists raised concern on the silence of the international community on keeping silent on the rise of Hindu majoritarian and fascist rule which is, unfortunately, a danger to the regional and international peace and security.
