‘Live ammunition used on protesters’

The information blackout in Kashmir amounted to a collective punishment for the people of the region, experts of the United Nations Human Rights Council said on Thursday.

In a statement, they said the communication lockdown and denial of fundamental rights to the Kashmiri people violated fundamental rights.

“The shutdown of Internet and telecommunication networks, without justification from the government, is inconsistent with the fundamental norms of necessity and proportionality. The blackout is a form of collective punishment for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, without even a pretext of a precipitating offence,” they said. They declared that they had received information about an increase in the arrest of political figures, journalists, human rights activists, and protesters.

They were worried about reports of night raids in private homes and arrest of young people.

The experts alleged that live ammunition was being used on protesters in Kashmir and that amounted to the violation of the fundamental right to life.

David Kaye, Michel Forst, Bernard Duhaime, Clement Nyaletsossi Voule and Agnes Callamard were the experts and rapporteurs who were part of the group from the Human Rights Council.