Srinagar
In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has termed the outbreak and spread of coronavirus among political prisoners in different jails of the territory as dangerous.
APHC spokesman in a statement issued in Srinagar said situation in the occupied territory’s prisons including Central Jail, Srinagar, Kot Bhalwal in Jammu and District Jail, Islamabad, has turned alarming as despite all censorship the media reports have confirmed that about 300 prisoners have been infected by the deadly virus.
He said that under international conventions the rights of political prisoners had to be honoured and protected under any circumstances but Kashmiri political prisoners were being systematically pushed towards the deadly virus in the overcrowded and unhygienic prisons where they were denied even basic facilities.
The spokesman added that the alarming numbers of COVID-19 infected prisoners from the three prisons had come to public domain but hundreds of prisoners had been languishing in dozens of Indian and the territory’s jails and there was no news about their health condition as due to military siege their families were unable to see their relatives and know about their welfare.
This is a grave human rights violation and humanitarian crises which directly and indirectly affects thousands of families who are deeply worried and concerned about their relatives and running from pillar to post to get information about them, he maintained.
The spokesman appealed to the international human rights organisations to intervene and take notice of the state terrorism in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.—KMS
