A Celebration of Women, Although India has amended its national juvenile justice law in order to be consistent with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the state of Jammu and Kashmir has not updated its law and is continuing to jail 16 and 17 year olds as adults.
Urge Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah to amend Jammu and Kashmir’s law now. »
17 year old Murtaza Manzoor was held for four months without being charged in a facility that was not equipped to house children, and he isn’t alone.
Amnesty International (AI) has also demanded the Indian authorities to immediately release a teenage Kashmiri, Murtaza Manzoor of Zainakadal, Srinagar, who was unlawfully detained by the authorities under the draconian law, Public Safety Act (PSA).
The Asia-Pacific Director at Amnesty International, Sam Zarifi, in a statement issued in London, flayed the occupation authorities and demanded immediate revocation of Murtaza Manzoor’s PSA.
He said that the Kot Bhalwal jail did not have any special facilities for children and provision of health care was limited. “While still a child, Manzoor has been locked up far away from his family in inadequate conditions alongside adults,” the AI Director pointed out.
Quoting certain UNCRC clauses, Zarifi said, “Detention should be in a separate facility for children and as close as possible to his family in order to facilitate family contact.” He said that at least 322 Kashmiris including children were reported to have been illegally detained without trial under the draconian law since January to September 2010.
It is pertinent to mention here that the 17-year-old, Murtaza Manzoor, has been languishing in Kot Bhalwal Jail Jammu since January this year under PSA.
Occupied State of Jammu & Kashmir (OSJK), APHC leader and the Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir National Front, Nayeem Ahmad Khan, has urged India to unconditionally release all illegally detained pro-liberation leaders and activists including Kashmiri youth, languishing in different jails inside and outside the territory.
Nayeem Ahmad Khan in a statement issued in Srinagar said that India should take positive and concrete steps to resolve the Kashmir dispute.
He said that the Indian government had always shown non-serious attitude towards the settlement of the lingering dispute. Nayeem Ahmad Khan welcomed the release of unlawfully detained Hurriyat leaders including Ghulam Nabi Shaheen, Zaffar Akbar Butt and Bilal Siddiqi. Reported by: https://soskashmir.wordpress.com/tag/murtaza-manzoor-of-zainakadal/
Although the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states that 16 and 17 year olds should be recognized and protected as children, Jammu and Kashmir has failed to honor this rule.
The Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has admitted the need for reform in the area, but change has been slow so far.
Urge the Chief Minister to amend the Jammu and Kashmir Juvenile Justice Act now. »
Thanks for Taking Action!Cori
ThePetitionSite
Demand Protection for Children in India Now 
Take Action link: http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/AgnEs/zlZo/BMoqz
Care2.com, Inc.
275 Shoreline Drive, Suite 300
Redwood City, CA 94065
http://www.care2.com
care2, Stand Up for Children in Jammu and Kashmir ~ Take Action !
August 1, 2011 by
