People's Democracy

JAMMU & KASHMIR

Release of Political Prisoners Demanded

THROUGH a statement issued from Srinagar on October 12, 2013, several political leaders demanded release of political prisoners lodged in different jails of Jammu and Kashmir in deference to the forthcoming festival of Eid.

The signatories to the statement included Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, CPI(M) state secretary and MLA, Hakim Mohammad Yasin (president, PDF and MLA), Abdul Rashid Kabuli (former MP and president, JKNDF), Sheikh Abdul Rehman (former MP and state president, Samajwadi Party),  Abdul Rehman Tukru (state secretary, CPI) and Sanjay Saraf (president, Lok Janshakti Party youth wing).

A meeting of the above mentioned leaders took place on October 12 to discuss the prevailing situation in the state. The meeting unanimously demanded that hundreds of youth who have been in jails for quite some time under minor offences since the last few years must be released under general amnesty and as a goodwill gesture to improve the ground situation in Kashmir.

The meeting was unanimous that the Public Safety Act has been grossly misused against political prisoners by repeatedly booking them on one or another pretext.

“We are receiving numerous requests from relatives and families whose near and dear ones are languishing in different jails. These families want to cherish the forthcoming festival of Eid with their kith and kin who are at present in jails. The government must understand the sensitivities involved and release all the political prisoners under an amnesty plan,” the meeting observed.

The leaders also expressed serious concern over the deteriorating health of some of the inmates, and said that prisoners with serious ailments should be released on compassionate grounds. The meeting opined that cases against youth who have been booked in minor offences must be withdrawn so that their career is not jeopardised and they don’t get exposed to vulnerable situations inside jails.