Sehrai condemns arrests from court premises

Srinagar: Tehreek-e-Hurriyat (TeH) chairman Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai has condemned PSA on Hanief Ahmed Bhat of Saloosa, Kreeri and arrest of Ghulam Hassan Shah of Bomai Sopore, Irfan Ahmad and Abdul Majeed Logri Pora from the court premises when they appeared for case hearing.

In a statement issued to GNS, Sehrai said: “As per the family members, Hanief Bhat is a minor and slapping PSA on him is travesty of justice and rights. Such arbitrary arrest and detentions under draconian PSA and shifting people in jails is most condemnable act.”

“These repressive measures are being used as tools to punish the innocent people for their political belief. Such injustice and coercion by authorities only pushes our youth to the wall further,” he said.

The TeH chairman said that hundreds of political prisoners including youth are languishing in various prisons since past many years and months and all basic principles of humanity and democracy are being ignored to prolong their “illegal” detention on one pretext or the other.

He said that detainees are supposed to be lodged in prisons closer to their homes as per the Supreme Court of India’s directions, but with Kashmiris, a “deliberate policy of punishment” is being implemented by authorities and the Kashmir prisons are lodged in various jails outside JK in soaring temperatures where scores among them have fallen ill and are not being provided with proper medical aid.

Sehrai appealed to human rights organisations especially International Red Cross Committee and other rights groups including Amnesty International, Asia Watch, to visit the jails and take stock of the plight of Kashmiri prisoners.

“Many of Kashmiri prisoners have been booked under PSA and whenever their PSA is quashed by the respective courts, within no time they were booked under another PSAs only to prolong their detention period,” Sehrai said and demanded unconditional release of these prisoners and hundreds of youth who he said are being punished for their political affiliation.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.