Srinagar, Mar 04: Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohamamd Yasin Malik on Sunday called for shutdown on March 07 (Wednesday) against the shifting of prisoners from Kashmir jails to outside jails.
Earlier, Dr Qasim Fakhtoo and Muhammad Shafi Shaereti were shifted to Udhampur Jail and Hiranagar jail respectively in Jammu province of the state.
In a joint statement issued here, the separatist trio 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 and “reflects the authorities’ revenge against the political prisoners.”
They said that shifting of Fakhtoo and 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.”
They said that despite court orders, the ruling regime in violation of its own High Court’s 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.”
They said that earlier also many Kashmiri prisoners were shifted and lodged in various prisons in Jammu.
They that Dr Fakhtoo recently completed 25 years in prison while as Dr Sherati also completed 15 years in jail. “Both the prisoners are 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.”
They said that “under the pretext of escape of one prisoner, endless miseries and hardships are being inflicted on hundreds of political prisoners, including shifting them to jails in Jammu.”
They appealed the world rights organizations including Asia Watch, Amnesty International and other human rights bodies to intervene in this “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.”
Geelani, Mirwai and Malik urged the people of Kashmir to observe a complete strike on Wednesday (March 07) 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.”
