Islamabad, Dec 4 (Asia Free Press): The family of Dr Ashiq Hussain Faktoo, a prominent Kashmiri leader who has been imprisoned for over 29 years, demanded on Friday that his case be transferred to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“Kashmir’s longest serving prisoner Dr Ashiq Hussain Faktoo has been kept in solitary confinement in Udhampur jail, India, for the last two years,” Dr Syed Mujahid Gilani, President of the Kashmir Youth Alliance (KYA) and nephew of the incarcerated leader Dr Faktoo said during a press conference with other Kashmir Youth Alliance (KYA) leaders on Friday at the National Press Club in Islamabad.
He further said, “As a result, Dr Faktoo is suffering from substantial health problems, including glaucoma and intestinal perforations, yet he has been denied access to even the most basic health care, which violates his fundamental human rights.”
“We are extremely worried about Dr Faktoo’s illegitimate incarceration,” he added.
Dr Faktoo is being held in the same barrack where renowned Hurriyat leader Ashraf Sehrai was slain while in Indian captivity, according to the statement.
While speaking to the media, Gilani asserted that “the international community, diplomats, human rights organisations, and media should play their effective roles to secure the release of captives from Indian-occupied Kashmir.”
The case of Dr Ashiq Hussain, who is the victim of an Indian vendetta, should be brought to international institutions, including the International Criminal Court (ICC), he maintained.
“The Facist Indian government is imprisoning and victimising Hurriyat leaders, including Dr Ashiq Hussain Faktoo and his wife Asiya Andrabi, who is also a pro-freedom leader and Chairperson of Dukhtaran-e-Millat, for their political ideology and their struggle for the right of self-determination for Kashmiri people,” Sheikh Abdul Mateen, Representative of Chairman All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) said.
He went on to say that the Indian authorities are waging a campaign of terror against Kashmiris on several fronts, including judicial terrorism, economic terrorism, and state terrorism, in the occupied part of the state.
“The lives of prisoners in Indian jails are at risk, notably those of Dr Ashiq, who has been detained for 29 years and whose life is in imminent danger. We’re here to jolt the consciousness of the world community and ensure that all Kashmiri captives be released as quickly as possible, no matter how difficult the situation is,” he affirmed.
“India is in flagrant violation of all international human rights laws, including the Geneva Conventions, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and Customary International Law, “Razi Tahir, Secretary-General of the Kashmiri Youth Alliance (KYA), said.
He further said, “we are concerned about this” and that “we intend to submit a letter to international organisations, including the United Nations, to inform them of the legal situation pertaining to the case of Dr Faktoo.”
The panel urged that Dr Faktoo’s case be referred to an international and impartial court, preferably the International Criminal Court (ICC), where the family may expect swift justice. The panel described Dr Faktoo’s extended detention for over 29 years as a miscarriage of justice and a stain on the world’s ostensibly just legal system.
