Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party has sought urgent intervention from international community to help secure early release of its incarcerated party Chairman Shabir Ahmed Shah who is suffering from prostate cancer and needs an urgent surgery.
In a statement issued on Friday, DFP Spokesman Advocate Arshad Iqbal, while highlighting the plight of illegally detained party chairman, said that it was quite unfortunate that the Indian judiciary has denied bail to Shabir Ahmed Shah despite knowing that he was suffering from serious ailments.
He said that Shah, currently jailed in Tihar, is battling Prostate Cancer but it was ironic that at this very crucial time his family was not permitted to attend him or at at least be present by his side during the treatment. Terming it as a fundamental violation of the basic human rights, the spokesman appealed the world human rights organizations to raise the issue with Indian government to ensure that due compassion care is extended in this critical time and that his family is allowed to be by his side at this difficult hour.
Meanwhile, the DFP Acting Chairman Mehmood Ahmed Saghar has expressed his grave concern over Shah's declining health condition.
He said that denial of adequate medical treatment to prisoners constitutes a server violation of the international law. "International treaties and human rights instruments, like the Geneva Conventions mandate that prisoners receive the same standard of healthcare available in the community", Saghar said adding that denying necessary healthcare to prisoners amounts to endangering their lives.
Saghar said that on the one hand Indian prison authorities have criminally ignored deteriorating health conditions of Shah while on the other hand the Indian judiciary has undermined his family's repeated requests for his release on medical grounds.
This lack empathy on the part of Indian authorities, he said, has unfortunately taken a heavy toll on Shah's health.
Demanding Shah's urgent release on humanitarian grounds, Saghar appealed the world human rights bodies to raise the matter with government of India to ensure that Shah is granted access to necessary medical treatment, including specialized care for pre-existing conditions, resulting in a worsening of his health.
Saghar also voiced his concern over the Indian court order barring Shah's family from attending him in hospital during the treatment. "Depriving a prisoner of visits, especially during illness, constitutes a flagrant violation of their right to family life and humane treatment", Saghar said adding that family visits provide crucial emotional support and can significantly improve a prisoner's mental and physical health, particularly during illness.