Human rights bodies, including International Fed-eration for Human Rights (FIDH), Forum-Asia, and World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) have condemned the serious human rights violations committed by Indian authorities in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir following the death of veteran Hurriyat leader, Syed Ali Gilani, on 1st September 2021.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the hu-man rights bodies in a joint statement also con-demned the imposition of restrictions that are incon-sistent with the India’s international human rights obligations and urged the Indian government to end all acts of harassment against the family members of Syed Ali Gilani.
As the news of Syed Ali Gilani’s death broke on the night of 1 September, police and military forces blocked all roads and other access routes leading to Gilani’s home in Srinagar, the statement said. “The armed forces also prevented media workers from reaching Gilani’s home.
Family members said po-lice removed Gilani’s body from his home, which prevented his family and other relatives from per-forming his final rites, including funeral prayers and the burial in accordance with Islamic practice,” it said.
The statement quoting, Syed Ali Gilani’s fam-ily, said, “In the early hours of 2 September, the police hastily buried Gilani at a graveyard near his home – an act that was against the leader’s wishes, as he wanted to be buried in the Martyrs’ Graveyard in Eidgah, Srinagar.”
On 5th September 2021, police in Srinagar filed a first information report (FIR) against Gilani’s family members under the black law, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the statement said.
The communication blockade made it difficult for the people to access healthcare and other essen-tial services in the region, it added.
The rights’ organizations condemned the viola-tions of the rights to freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of movement, and freedom of religion or belief.
They urged the Indian government to ensure the people of Kashmir can exercise their legitimate rights in accordance with the human rights treaties to which India is a state party.—KMS
