Violence, dissent and the war on terror
Zia was found not guilty of any offence by Indian Courts. He was arbitrarily detained in different
ZAHID ZIA, BROTHER OF ZIA MUSTAFA, EXTRAJUDICIALLY KILLED BY INDIAN FORCES
jails for 18 years of his life, since the age of 15. In October 2021 we were told that Zia [had been]
killed by Indian forces. Multiple media channels reported that he was killed.
We just want the dead body of Zia to be handed over to us – the family members – so that we
MUSLIM ZIA, COUSIN OF ZIA MUSTAFA, EXTRAJUDICIALLY KILLED BY INDIAN FORCES
can bury him with our hands.
I was tortured and interrogated by two white men – both spoke English. They wanted me
KARIM, TORTURED BY FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE AGENTS IN KASHMIR
to sign a confession stating that I was being supported and shared the same ‘ideology’ of
mujahideen in Palestine and Afghanistan.
The torture was so severe that many of my brother’s body parts were broken – like a mutilation.
IMRAN SULTAN, BROTHER OF SHABIR WHO WAS TORTURED BY INDIAN POLICE
When I held his right arm after we recovered his body, [it] felt as if the arm was boneless – the
bones had been crushed from severe beating. Blood kept oozing out from his mouth for several
hours before he was laid to rest. He had severe internal damage.
When I grabbed my injured mother, a bullet hit my arm and I too fell to the ground. While we
DAUGHTER OF FAIZA, ELDERLY WOMAN SHOT BY INDIAN FORCES OUTSIDE HER HOUSE
were bleeding on the road, all I could hear was the loud shots of bullets.
There are hundreds of cases of absolute immunity, there are no criminal prosecution cases, and
ADVOCATE NASIR QADRI, LEGAL FORUM FOR KASHMIR
as a lawyer I feel frustrated when defending people’s human rights here. Everything is controlled
by the occupier; there is no independent judiciary in place. State violence has increased,
journalists are targeted, doctors [are] restrained and there is complete censorship of reporting
on what’s is happening in Jammu and Kashmir. No human rights organisation can operate here.
The Indian Counter Intelligence Kashmir (CIK) agency monitor us and prevent our lawyering in
every process. They even sit inside the court rooms!
I have lost faith in justice, Gul told the SWI-unit. Is journalism a crime? I keep thinking, how could
SAJAD GUL, JOURNALIST
I be charged for merely reporting on a demolition drive?
AUTHOR
Khalil Dewan
Head of Investigations at Stoke White, an international law firm. Dewan
holds an LL.B Law (Hons.) and LL.M in International Human Rights Law
and Humanitarian Law (Merit) from SOAS, University of London. He has
a decade of experience conducting investigations in Pakistan, Somalia,
Yemen, Syria, Mali and elsewhere. He submitted 374 OSINT briefings on
the Qatar-Gulf Crisis and is a contributor with Bellingcat.
