Kashmir: Demand grows for release of top lawyer from jail

By Nusrat Sidiq

SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir (AA) - The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders issued an urgent appeal on Feb. 5 against the "arbitrary" detention and deteriorating health of Mian Abdul Qayoom.

Qayoom is the President of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association (JKHCBA).

In late January, his family and friends said Qayoom had "suffered heart attack" which prompted the group to ask the Indian government to release Qayoom and other human rights defenders.

"Guarantee in all circumstances the physical integrity and psychological well-being of Mr. Qayoom and give him immediate and unconditional access to the medical attention he requires,” the group said.

Qayoom, 73, was arrested on Aug. 4 last year in a massive crackdown in which thousands of people were reportedly detained in the run-up to stripping Jammu and Kashmir of statehood and semi-autonomous status on Aug. 5.

He was detained in a jail in India's Uttar Pradesh province from where he was transferred to Tihar jail in New Delhi following the deterioration in his health.

The Aug. 5 move by India was backed by boosting troop levels in an already heavily militarized region, imposing curfews and cutting communication lines.

High-speed internet in the region is still blocked.

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders is a joint program of the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) and France-based International Federation of Human Rights.

- Who is Mian Abdul Qayoom?

Beginning his career as a government employee in Kashmir's Sericulture department in the 1970s, Qayoom, who retained presidentship of JKHCBA at least 20 times, joined the court in 1976 when he saw people "dying to get justice" particularly those who were caught in power hegemony.

A senior JKHCBA member, Advocate Ghulam Nabi Shaheen, told Anadolu Agency that Qayoom is one of those in Kashmir who spoke for the rights of people.

"He is not a criminal. He is one the most respected lawyers across the country with over 40 years of advocacy record," said Shaheen, who is a former Secretary-General of JKHCBA.

“Qayoom left the government job only to pursue advocacy just to give a helping hand to those people who had no hope of getting justice. From 1976, he has fought thousands of cases in courts till the earlier part of 2019,” Shaheen added.

In 1995, Qayoom was allegedly attacked by unknown gunmen. He was hit in lower his abdomen and was injured. Though a First Information Report (FIR) was registered, the case faded with time with no one to pursue. Bedridden Qayoom again joined the court in late 1997.

Until 2003, Qayoom did not actively participate in JKHCBA activities, In 2004, he successfully participated in bar elections and was elected president.

“He has been proactive with what he professes and has been fighting for truth and justice all along but unfortunate is this that the Indian government has put him behind bars when nothing is against him,” Shaheen claimed.

- Jammu and Kashmir High court dismisses petition

More than 400 lawyers in Kashmir went on strike when Qayoom was arrested and sent to jail under the draconian Public Safety Act (PSA) law passed in 1978.

It was the fifth time Qayoom was arrested under the PSA. In 1992, and then again in 2010, Qayoom was booked under the PSA -- described as a "lawless law" by Amnesty International under which a person can be jailed for two years without trial.

Last August, JKHCBA petitioned the High Court in Srinagar but the Court took almost six months to finally dismiss it on "grounds of detention are precise, pertinent, proximate and relevant" while the detention order has been slapped on previous FIRs registered in 2008 and 2010.

“There is no fresh activity attributed. A person has been detained on previous activities for which he was already punished and after almost 10 years has passed. He is being detained on the same ground. This is a travesty of justice,” Shaheen told Anadolu Agency. “We will challenge this judgment for sure.”

PSA dossier prepared by Jammu and Kashmir police mentions that given the "record of the subject [Mian Abdul Qayoom] and his activities which are deep-rooted in secessionist ideology, the subject is likely going to instigate public.

"In view of the decisions of the Union [Indian] Government taken on Aug. 5, 2019, there is every likelihood that subject will instigate general public to resort to violence which would disturb public peace and tranquility," the dossier said.

- 'Slipping from our hands'

Family members of Qayoom say his condition is deteriorating. Mian Muzaffar, Qayoom's nephew, said his uncle has undergone nine surgeries over the years.

“He has only one kidney. He is hypertensive and diabetic and needs regular [medical] checkups and medicine. He needs around 10 to 12 tablets for different ailments in a day apart from insulin injections. In jail, he has lost weight and there is no one to take care of his health,” he said after recently meeting Qayoom in Tihar jail.

Muzaffar claimed Qayoom was lodged "with criminals."

"He is not able to eat properly, not able to take a bath; he offers namaz [Muslim prayer] under the bed. He feels breathlessness.

“I fear for his condition ... it is so bad and heart-wrenching,” Muzaffar said.

After hearing that a court in Srinagar dismissed his uncle’s plea, Muzaffar "rued to be a lawyer". "[When] where is no justice for a person of his stature, what about a common person," he asked.

The Bar Council of England and Wales and the Bar Human Rights Committee of England also wrote to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about Qayoom’s arrest, colleague Nazir Ahmed Ronga and other Kashmiri lawyers.

While Ronga was released in January, Qayoom and JKHCBA Secretary Advocate Mohammad Ashraf Bhat continue to remain in jail.

- Kashmir Scholars urge intervention by OHRHC

Kashmir Scholars Consultative and Action Network (KSCAN) -- an interdisciplinary group of scholars of various nationalities engaged in research on disputed Kashmir region -- wrote an open letter to Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions at Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human rights (OHRHC) seeking intervention in Qayoom's case.

"Throughout his career, Mr. Qayoom has been a fearless advocate for victims of rights violations ... For his tireless advocacy and service, he has repeatedly been the target of politicized prosecutions and previous detentions," the group said in the letter addressed to Special Rapporteur at OHRHC, Agnes Callamard.

Seeking the "immediate and unconditional" release of Qayoom, the KSCAN claimed: "the [JKHCBA president] is being arbitrarily detained for political reasons. His health situation is critical and deteriorating. He requires immediate, proper medical attention and the care of his loved ones."

- Disputed region

Kashmir is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.

Since they were partitioned in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- two of them over Kashmir.

Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or unification with neighboring Pakistan.

According to several human rights organizations, thousands of people have reportedly been killed in the conflict in the region since 1989.

* Riyaz ul Khaliq contributed to story from Ankara