Srinagar, Mar 04 Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) comprising Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik have condemned the arbitrary and illegal move of shifting Dr Muhammad Qasim Fakhtoo and Muhammad Shafi Shaerati and others in the middle of night clandestinely from Central Jail Srinagar to Udhampur and Hiranagar prisons. Terming the move as dictatorial and inhuman they said that it is in total violation of the court orders reflecting the authorities revenge against the political prisoners.
JRL said that shifting of Dr Fakhtoo and Dr Shaerati to Jammu prisons is a brazen violation of the orders of the double bench of J&K High Court that had stated that the duo can’t be shifted to any other place outside Srinagar. The leadership said that despite the clear court orders the ruling regime in violation of its own high court orders still shifted the duo from Central Jail to Jammu to appease their masters in New Delhi, showing that court orders have no standings or value for them.
The Leadership said that earlier many Kashmiri prisoners who were lodged in Central Jail Srinagar were also shifted and lodged in various prisons in Jammu that included Nazir Ahmed Sheikh, Muhammad Ayoub Dar, Muhammad Ayoub Mir, Abdul Hameed Teli, Tariq Ahmed Dar, Rayees Ahmed, Showkat Ahmed Hakeem, Adil Ahmed Zargar, Moomin Ahmed, Muhammad Ishaq Pal, Imran Nabi Wani, Mehrajudin, Danish Malik, Feroz Ahmed, Mufti Abdul Ahad, Amir Ahmed Wagay and many others stating that move is highly condemnable.
The leadership said that Dr Fakhtoo recently completed 25 years in prison while as Dr Sherati also completed 15 years in jail. They said both the prisoners were suffering from multiple ailments due to their prolonged confinement and yet they were shifted to Jammu jails, causing a risk to their lives which is inimical to all humanitarian and democratic principles.
The leadership said that under the pretext of escape of one prisoner, endless miseries and hardships are being inflicted on hundreds of political prisoners and including shifting them to jails in Jammu.
The Leadership made a fervent appeal to world rights organizations including Asia Watch, Amnesty International and other human rights bodies to intervene into the grave violation of prisoner’s rights taking place in Kashmir and take steps to ensure all prisoners are brought back to Valley and released without any pre-condition.
The leadership urged the people of Kashmir to observe a complete strike on Wednesday (March 7) against the shifting of prisoners to outside jails, their prolonged and illegal detention and the ill-treatment meted out to them by the jail authorities and the ruling regime.
