Paris: President of Jammu and Kashmir Forum France Mirza Asif Jarral has called upon the United Nations, members of European Parliament, members of French Parliament and human rights organizations to take notice of judicial victimisation of human rights activists in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
In a letter titled ‘Now judicial victimization of Kashmiri human rights activists’ Asif Jarral drew the attention of the world towards disturbing human rights developments in IIOJK, where the authorities have launched a campaign of arrest, arbitrary detention and deportation to repress and intimidate peaceful civil society and political activists.
“Since August 05, 2019, the authorities in IIOJK have arrested thousands of civil society activists and human rights defenders. In recent weeks there has been a marked escalation in the crackdown on those advocating political reform in IIOJK,” he said in the letter.
He said that three prominent human rights champions, Aasiya Andrabi, Fehmeeda Sofi and Naheeda Nasreen were amongst those detained in a spate of arrests and detentions in 2018 on the charge of “waging war” against India.
Asif Jarral urged the UN, EU and French parliamentarians and human rights organizations to raise these issues at the highest levels with the Indian authorities and criticize publicly the repression of free speech and free association, the harassment of members of the legal profession and call for the immediate release of the detained activists.
