On 5 August the Government of India stripped the Kashmir region of its special autonomy and shut down all phone and internet access. The government now has near-total control over the information coming out of Kashmir, a place which has witnessed serious human rights violations in the past.
The blackout affects the daily lives of Kashmir’s people: their emotional and mental well-being, as well as their access to medical care, basic necessities and emergency services.
Now with reports of mass arrests and detentions, torture of civilians and the soldiers using tear gas, rubber bullets and pellet guns against protesters, we have grave concerns of human rights violations happening without the world’s knowledge.
