Indian cashmere decongests prisons for fear of coronavirus
Indian Kashmir authorities have begun to decongest their prisons, which are home to hundreds of Kashmiris accused of links to the disputed region’s separatist movement, fearing that the new coronavirus will spread to prison centers.
Thes authorities Jammu and Kashmir, which has 48 of the 1,251 cases of covid -19 detected across India , formed a “high-level commission” to temporarily release convicts and detainees awaiting trial, told the Spanish news agency EFE one local official who declined to be identified.
“The committee will analyze the category of prisoners who will be released conditionally , taking into account the nature of their crime, the number of years they have been sentenced to,” he said.. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
Another official, who also declined to be identified, told EFE that the regional department of the Ministry of Interior has ordered the release of 31 people for now.
On March 23 , the Indian Supreme Court called on all regions to consider releasing prisoners to reduce prison overcrowding.
According to the Kashmir Supreme Court Bar Association, hundreds of Kashmiris are being held inside and outside the state, especially since India overturned the region’s semi – autonomy status in August .
The decision was followed by a series of unprecedented restrictions and the arrest of a large number of politicians, activists and other civilians.
Among them is the former head of Kashmir government Mehbooba Mufti, who remains in prison under the controversial Public Security Act, which allows a person to be detained for months without taking him to court and who has been classified as “law without law”.
“The association had a meeting at distan INSTANCE in which asked the authorities to release all political prisoners in and out of Jammu and Kashmir, taking into account the recent Supreme orders,” he told EFE spokesman of the organization, Muzaffar .
The India -Pakistan dispute the Kashmir, a Muslim majority, since independence Empire brit anode in 1947. The area is the scene since the 1990s of a movement insurgent with separatist overtones.