Urge ensuri­ng protec­tion of human rights to health, libert­y, freedo­m of moveme­nt, protec­tion from illega­l tortur­eSix leading global human rights bodies have jointly called upon the Indian government to release all the unjustly detained Kashmiris of the Indian occupied valley on priority besides ensuring protection of their basic human rights to health, liberty, freedom of movement and protection from illegal torture. Reminding the Indian authorities about their international rights obligations, these rights groups demanded immediate release of all arbitrarily detained prisoners in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJK), including journalists, human rights defenders, political leaders and others detained simply for expressing critical or dissenting views, and all those arrested after August 5, last year. Last month, the Indian home ministry revealed that 7,357 persons had been arrested in IOJK since August 5, 2019. “The human rights groups and UN experts had repeatedly called for the release as a matter of priority for those detained without sufficient legal basis, including political prisoners. The government of India must urgently address them, regardless of the threat of a global pandemic.

Source: The Express Tribune April 08, 2020 04:29 UTC