A massive sit-in protest is underway at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, to mark six years of incarceration of Baramulla Member of Parliament, Engineer Rashid.
Hundreds of supporters, activists, and sympathisers gathered carrying placards and banners demanding the immediate release of AIP President and MP Baramulla Er Rashid and other Kashmiris languishing in different jails across the country and Jammu & Kashmir.
Protestors raised slogans calling the detention of Er Rashid an “assault on democracy,” stressing that keeping a democratically elected MP behind bars undermines the very mandate of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Carrying posters reading “Prison walls cannot silence people’s mandate” and “When leaders are jailed, democracy fails,” the demonstrators urged the Government of India to end what they termed as “unjust and prolonged detention.”
Many civil society members from Delhi, including noted peace activist O.P. Shah, also participated in the protest, lending their support to the demand for the release of Er Rashid.
Leaders addressing the gathering said that six long years of incarceration despite public support and parliamentary mandate is “a travesty of justice” and demanded his immediate release so that he can represent his people inside Parliament.
The sit-in protest is being seen as a strong message of solidarity with Er Rashid and other detainees, amplifying the demand for justice, democracy and human rights.