14-YEAR-old RELEASED from jail in india
Mushtaq Ahmad Sheikh, a child aged 14, was detained without charge or trial in India for nearly ten months. He was finally released from administrative detention on 10 February 2011.
Mushtaq Ahmad Sheikh was arrested on 9 April 2010. He is alleged to have been part of a large mob which pelted police and security forces with stones during ongoing protests against the state in Srinagar, the capital of the northern Jammu and Kashmir state. He was released on bail after eight days in custody but was again detained without charge or trial on 21 April.
Mushtaq Ahmad Sheikh was initially held at Udhampur Jail and later held at Kot Bhalwal Jail at Jammu. Both are regular prisons without any special facilities for detaining children. Prison conditions in Jammu are harsh and the provision of health care is limited.
Mushtaq Ahmad Sheikh was released from administrative detention on 10 February 2011. Amnesty International believes that public campaigning by the Urgent Action Network may well have contributed to the decision to release Mushtaq Ahmad Sheikh.
Thank you for taking action on this case. No further action is required.
This is the first update of UA 239/10. Further information: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA20/032/2010/en