The London-based world human rights watchdog, Amnesty International has expressed serious concern over the impunity enjoyed by the Indian troops for human rights abuses in Indian occupied Kashmir.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the Amnesty International in its annual report for 2017-18 posted on its website said that impunity for human rights abuses persisted in occupied Kashmir, with the Indian forces continuing to use inherently inaccurate pellet-firing shotguns during protests, and the authorities frequently shutting down internet services.
The report, which was released in Delhi, said that in April, eight people were killed by the Indian forces, some of them by the use of excessive force, following protests during a by-election for an Indian Parliamentary seat. One voter, Farooq Ahmad Dar, the report said, was beaten by the army personnel, strapped to the front of an army jeep and driven around for over five hours, seemingly as a warning to protesters. It said that in May, the officer responsible received an army commendation for this work. The report said that in July, the Human Rights Commission of the occupied territory directed the puppet administration to provide Farooq Dar Rs one lakh as compensation, but in November, the authorities refused to pay.
The report maintained that in June, a military court set up under the paramilitary Border Security Force acquitted two soldiers of killing 16-year-old Zahid Farooq Sheikh in 2010. It said that the BSF had successfully prevented the case from being prosecuted in a civilian court.
In July, the report stated, an appellate military court suspended the life sentences of five army personnel convicted by a court-martial of the extrajudicial executions of three men in Machil in 2010. In November, it said, the Human Rights Commission repeated a directive issued to the puppet regime in 2011 to investigate over 2,000 unmarked graves.
The report said that the Indian forces’ personnel continued to use inherently inaccurate pellet-firing shotguns during protests, blinding and injuring several people. The authorities frequently shut down internet services, citing public order concerns, it added.
The report said that the Indian authorities were using repressive laws to stifle freedom of expression while journalists and press freedom came under increasing attack. In September, journalist Gauri Lankesh, an outspoken critic of Hindu nationalism and the caste system, was shot dead outside her home in Bengaluru by unidentified gunmen. The same month, journalist Shantanu Bhowmick was beaten to death near Agartala while covering violent political clashes.
The report said that in the same month, photojournalist, Kamran Yousuf was arrested in occupied Kashmir for allegedly instigating people to throw stones at the Indian forces under a law which does not meet international human rights standards. In December, a French film-maker conducting research for a documentary on the Kashmir conflict was detained for three days in Indian occupied Kashmir, it added.
