URGENT ATTENTION NEEDED

Amnesty International has urged authorities in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir to release a 14-year-old child who has been detained without charge or trial for seven months, for allegedly taking part in anti-government protests.

The boy is being held in prison and is abused by the authorities and therefore urgent action is needed.
Mushtaq Ahmad Sheikh, a child aged 14, has been detained without charge or trial by the Jammu and Kashmir authorities in India since 21 April 2010.
Mushtaq Ahmad Sheikh was initially held at Udhampur Jail and is now held at Kot Bhalwal Jail at Jammu. Both are regular prisons without any special facilities for detaining children.

The police claim that Mushtaq Ahmad Sheikh is 19 years old. His family members told Amnesty International that Mushtaq was born in 1996 and is therefore only 14 years old. Prison records are reported to also confirm that Mushtaq Ahmad Sheikh is indeed a child.

To my fellow bloggers, kindly post this onto your blogs and help AI in securing the release of the boy, by writing to the below mentioned addresses -

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in English or your own language:
 Demanding that the state authorities immediately end the detention without charge or trial of Mushtaq Ahmad Sheikh;
 Urging that if charged with a recognizable criminal offence, Mushtaq Ahmad Sheikh be treated in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and held and tried in special facilities for children;

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 28 DECEMBER 2010 TO:

Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir
Omar Abdullah
Civil Secretariat
Government of Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu – 180 001
Fax: +91 191 2546466
Salutation: Dear Chief Minister


And copies to:

Minister of Home Affairs
P Chidambaram
North Block, Central Secretariat
New Delhi – 110 001
Fax: + 91 11 23094221
Email: hm@nic.in

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

You may also visit the Amnesty International website, to know more about it.
Here's the link -

http://amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/indian-authorities-must-release-14-year-old-held-kashmir-without-charge-2010-11-18

Thanks.