*Calls for swift action by Govt to stop spread of COVID-19
Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Mar 29: Jammu and Kashmir National Conference today demanded immediate release of incarcerated party leaders, other detainees and called for swift action by government to prevent spread of COVID-19 in prisons across the country.
Party’s Member of Parliament (RETD) Justice Hasnain Masoodi expressed commiseration with the scores of families whose loved ones are languishing in various detention centers inside and outside J&K.
He said, “The families of the detainees languishing in various detention centers across the country are worried, particularly in wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.
He said the inmates languishing in various detention centers are facing shortage of sanitary material to stem the spread of the virus.
“Many inmates sleep in crowded dorm style units, share same bathrooms; it is no less than a terrifying situation to which the government has shut its eyes,” he said.
When the world is going through worst of public health nightmare which requires social distancing and proper sanitation” he said that having political leaders, activists, civil society leaders in confinement reveals the perturbing indifference of the present ruling dispensation for basic human rights.
“Our party leaders including General Secretary Haji Ali Muhammad Sagar and party functionary Hilal Ahmad Lone have been slapped with PSA and are presently lodged in detention centers whereas our Provincial President Nasir Aslam Wani, Chief Spokesperson Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, womens wing president Shameema Firdous, senior leaders Choudhary Ramzaan, Mohammad Shafi Uri, A R Rather continue to remain under house arrest. These as well as scores of other detainees are the ones who have nurtured democracy and democratic institutions, paid deference to the rule of law and constitution all their lives,” he said.
He also sought the release of all the detainees languishing in jail inside and outside J&K.
“Incarcerated leaders should be allowed to reunite with their families, who could take better care of them. Scores of other detainees including students, trade union leaders, and political activists should also be released fore with; the measure will bring respite to their families,” Masoodi said.
Calling the attention of government to the issue, Masoodi said overcrowding in the jails spaces does not help in the proper implementation of COVID-19 protocol.
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