UN urged to intervene over use of prolonged pre-trial detention as tool in IIOJK
Islamabad: Chairman of the Kashmir Institute of International Relations (KIIR) Altaf Hussain Wani has urged the United Nations to intervene over the use of prolonged pre-trial detention as tool by India in occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
In a letter to Dr Matthew Gillett, Chair-Rapporteur of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Altaf Hussain Wani cited the case of a Kashmiri youth Mohammad Yaseen Butt as an example. Butt, he said, remains in custody since July 10, 2023, without conviction.
In the letter, Wani expressed concern over Butt’s prolonged detention and repeated adjournments. He said the delays were postponing justice and compounding the suffering of detainees and their families.
“Every adjournment deepens suffering and delays justice,” Wani said. He added that successive hearings had brought new dates rather than progress towards a verdict.
Wani said that Indian authorities were using prolonged pre-trial detention as a tool of collective punishment in Kashmir. He said such practices violated international human rights standards and undermined the right to a fair and speedy trial.
