APHC-AJK expresses concern over deteriorating health of Hurriyat leader Bilal Siddiqui in jail
Islamabad : All Parties Hurriyat Conference Azad Jammu and Kashmir (APHC-AJK) has expressed grave concern over the deteriorating health of illegally detained Hurriyat leader Bilal Siddiqui, saying that he is being subjected to continuous political vendetta.
According to Kashmir Media Service, APHC-AJK Convener Ghulam Muhammad Safi and the entire Hurriyat leadership in their joint statement in Islamabad said Bilal Siddiqui is being illegally detained merely for supporting the right to self-determination and legitimate political rights of the Kashmiri people and has been languishing in Central Jail, Srinagar, Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
They said continuous detention, inadequate prison conditions and lack of timely and quality medical facilities are posing serious risks to his health, which is also a serious violation of human rights.
The Hurriyat leaders said India is relentlessly using arrests, long detentions and black laws against Hurriyat leaders, political activists, youth and human rights activists to suppress dissent in occupied Jammu and Kashmir. They said depriving Kashmiri political prisoners of their basic human rights, family visits, legal assistance and proper medical facilities is against the spirit of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions.
They said Bilal Siddiqui’s deteriorating health is extremely worrying and if he is not provided with better medical facilities immediately, it could have serious consequences, for which the Indian authorities will be fully responsible.
The Hurriyat leaders demanded of the international human rights organizations and the world community to take immediate notice of the plight of all Kashmiri political prisoners, including Bilal Siddiqui, illegally detained in Indian jails, ensure immediate medical assistance to them and put effective pressure on India to end their illegal detention.
They said that the Indian government can never weaken the spirit of freedom of the Kashmiri people through coercion, torture, arrests and reprisals and theywill continue their struggle for their right to self-determination to its logical conclusion at all costs.
