Criticizing authorities for their “rude and heartless” approach against detainees, Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman Syed Ali Geelani on Tuesday said they are harassing and intimidating prisoners on one pretext or the other.Referring to the State Administrative Council (SAC) proposal to delete a provision in the PSA that bars state authorities from lodging J&K residents in outside state jails, Geelani said that “callous” approach reflects the prejudicial style against prisoners detained under Public Safety Act.Geelani cautioned people about “future detrimental proposals” of New Delhi and its “puppets” and asked to jointly fight against this “lawlessness” and remain watchful.“They are even denying the directives of their Supreme Court wherein the ruling lays that a prisoner should be kept in a jail as near as possible to the place of residence of his family,” he said.The families and even their kids are badly suffering as the detainees are lodged in outside state jails and despite court rulings, hundreds of those detained were unnecessarily shifted, thus facing adverse situations and scorning and harsh temperatures.
Lashing out at authorities for their “rhetoric” of being a great democracy, Hurriyat (G) chairman said, “India is claiming to be a great democracy in the world however all its claims are proving hollow. Instead it follows bigoted dogma and its approach is quite barbaric and haughty.”The pro-freedom leader said that it is heart-wrenching that “several innocents were detained for long periods against frivolous charges”. During their detention, he said, they were even denied bail, though later the court acquitted them and declared innocents.Geelani expressed his anguish over “deteriorating” condition of detainees, saying that the treatment meted out to them is agonizing.He appealed Amnesty International, Asia Watch and other international organizations for human rights to take cognizance of the plight of these detainees and use influence for their release.Geelani also impressed upon international community to break their silence and “rescue” the political prisoners of Kashmir. (GNS)