SRINAGAR, 8 April 2020, TON: More than 2568 Kashmiri Muslim political and civil rights inmates including 18 Kashmiris imprisoned on the charges of carrying out terrorism against Indian Army deployed in Jammu and Kashmir were shifted to unidentified locations on Tuesday, 7 April 2020. The decision to transfer the prisoners was taken after the inmates held a protest due to lack of health facilities and the possibility of the novel Coronavirus outbreak.Indian Inspector of prisons revealed that they have strict orders not to release any Kashmiri.  

Jammu and Kashmir Prison Department official disclosed that last month too on 31 March some 1240 Kashmiris prisoners, especially the young, who could turn to more violent in the wake of international pressure to free prisoners amidst spread of Coronavirus have been moved to three detention centers in neighbouring Punjab province including Lucknow.  Most of them were pro-freedom Kashmiri, who were alleged to have links with Pakistan.

If we recall, there was tremendous pressure from Organization of Islamic Conference to free all political pressure and quite recently, international human rights organizations in a joint statement urged Government of India to release all unjustly detained prisoners in the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir in an effort to contain the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The statement was issued by Amnesty International India, CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, International Commissions of Jurists (ICJ), Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA),  World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH).