By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter
Srinagar: Taking cognisance of the “deplorable” conditions of Kashmiri prisoners inside and outside the state, Jama’at-e-Islami (JeI) Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) on Monday, November 27, sought their unconditional release and appealed to the international and local human rights bodies to take immediate notice of their conditions.
The Jama’at spokesperson said that thousands of “innocent” Kashmiris are languishing in jails in and outside the valley only for the reason that they wish such a resolution of Kashmir issue which represents the wishes and aspirations of the concerned people.
“This issue came to fore in 1947 when the accession of J&K was made to India without taking the aspirations of Kashmiri people into account but soon after the accession, the government of India promised the people directly and through the medium of UNO that they would be provided an impartial chance to express their aspirations and their aspirations would also be accepted,” said the Jama’at spokesperson.
He further said that the jails in Jammu & Kashmir are full of innocent Kashmiri detainees and a good number of them is languishing in Tihar and other jails of India.
“They are neither provided with suitable food nor given proper medical facilities. They are given beastly treatment in the jails in Jammu and the stringent procedure for meeting them has virtually made it impossible for their family members to meet them,” he added.
The statement comes in the backdrop of an increase in trend of attacks on Kashmiri prisoners in jails outside the state.
On November 21, few Kashmiri inmates including Shahid Yousuf, son of Syed Salahuddin who was arrested by NIA on October 24 over terror funding charges, were thrashed by Tamil Nadu Force inside Tihar Jail.
This is the second case in last three months. On September 13, some Kashmiris were badly beaten after a brawl between two groups inside the Tihar jail.
According to an IANS report, at least 17 prisoners were injured in March this year when a clash broke out between two groups.
Last year, an inmate was killed in a fight between two groups in a moving jail van entering the Tihar Jail from Saket court.
In a similar incident in 2015, two inmates were allegedly beaten to death by seven others in a fight that broke out inside a prison van heading from Rohini court to Tihar jail.
The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has also expressed serious concern over the thrashing. “The woeful tale of miseries and torture of the Kashmiri prisoners in Tihar Jail is a serious concern for us as authorities in Tihar are unnecessarily harassing and thrashing detainees on one pretext or the other,” it said.