Free Faizan Campaign
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Free Faizan Campaign is a campaign by the international human rights watchdog Amnesty International (AI), that demands the release of Faizan Rafiq Hakeem who has been allegedly detained without charge or trial by the Jammu and Kashmir police in India since 23 February 2011.[1] This campaign started after the AI submitted a report on Faizan to the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah and Indian home minister P. Chidambaram.[1]
Amnesty report
On 30 March 2011, Amnesty International submitted a report on the Faizan Rafiq Hakeem to the chief minister and home minister P Chidambaram. The report stated:
"Faizan Rafiq Hakeem was arrested on 7 February outside his house in Anantnag, Jammu and Kashmir. He is alleged to have been part of a large crowd of protestors that pelted police and security forces with stones during protests against the state in four incidents in July 2009, June 2010, July 2010 and October 2010. He received two charges for rioting and other offences for his involvement in the incidents and was granted bail by a magistrate on February 12 for one of the charges and on February 23 for the second. He was however not released as the police decided to hold him in administrative detention – without charge or trial – under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act."[2]
The Amnesty International demanded that the state authorities should immediately end the detention without charge or trial of Faizan Rafiq Hakeem. They also demanded that if Faizan Hakeem is to be held on charges of a recognizably criminal offence, he be afforded all fair trial guarantees set out in international law.
They sought fair trial of Faizan as guaranteed by the Article 40(2) of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which stipulates also that any detention shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time; such detention should be in a separate facility for children, as close as possible to his family in order to facilitate family contact.[2]
Age controversy
Medical tests on Faizan showed that his age was between 17 and 18, but his family maintained that he was 15 during arrest.[1]
Effect of campaign
A day after the report was released, micro-bloggers protested by sending tweets to Abdullah asking reconsidering the case of Faizan and to release him. In responding in tweets on social networking sites, Abdullah wrote "Medical tests show him 2 B (to be) above 17. Law in J&K (has) a minor under 16. However in light of circumstances (I) am looking sympathetically (at the case)," [1]