Global Moot Raises Serious Concerns Over India’s Misuse Of Its Judiciary To Suppress Dissenting Voices In Kashmir

Speakers hailing from various backgrounds while addressing an international seminar held on the sidelines of the 55th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in the Swiss City of Geneva expressed grave concerns over India’s misuse of its judiciary to suppress political dissent in the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir

MIRPUR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th Mar, 2024) Speakers hailing from various backgrounds while addressing an international seminar held on the sidelines of the 55th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in the Swiss City of Geneva expressed grave concerns over India’s misuse of its judiciary to suppress political dissent in the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

The seminar, hosted by the Community Human Rights and Advocacy Center, was addressed by noted international law experts, including advocate Ahmer Bilal Sofi, Barrister Tanvir, and Altaf Hussain Wani Ronald Brones, while Muzammil Thakur moderated the panel, according to a message released to the media here on Wednesday. 

While shedding light on the denial of fair trials to Kashmiri prisoners, the panelists raised serious doubts about the impartiality of the Indian judiciary. 

The message continued while referring to Article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UDHR, and the Geneva Convention. The speakers said, “As per these international covenants, every prisoner is entitled to an impartial and public hearing when his or her rights are at stake.

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Referring to the Indian judiciary's biased approach towards Kashmiris, the speakers said that while hearing the case of Kashmiri prisoners, Indian courts had failed to maintain the required level of neutrality to ensure justice. The reopening of decades-old cases against Kashmiri leaders, they said, was evidence of the politicization of the courts. "The judiciary appeared to be compliant with the current government’s agenda that seeks to crush every kind of dissent in the region,"  they said.

Urging the international community to take effective notice of the situation in Kashmir, the speakers emphasized that it was imperative for the global community to exert pressure on the Indian government to stop the weaponization of the judiciary against Kashmiris. 

They observed that the weaponization of the judicial system against Kashmiris had not only eroded the independence of the Indian judiciary but also cast a dark shadow over the entire Indian justice system.

APP/ahr/378