“My mother called my aunt today. The women in Tihar jail have filed an application for the Supreme Court, trying to obtain interim bail for three months amid Corona Virus pandemic. The hearing is on Tuesday. Two of our three female political prisoners are 50+, and suffering from co-morbidities that have worsened over time in prison due to lack of proper medications. This puts them in a high-risk group and makes them more vulnerable to this deadly virus as proven by fatalities around the world. The prison condition is most unfavorable and does not follow any WHO basic guidelines. The prison is crammed full and disease-ridden. No proper sanitization and hygiene are available. Prisoners are served meager food in polythene bags. The prison guard and other staff do not wear any protective gear and is constantly on move and if infected, can transmit this virus easily. Our female political prisoners who are detained there already suffer from a frail immune system and are in need of proper CARE AND ASSISTANCE and will not be granted the necessary health care in case they are faced with the Covid-19. An outbreak can prove disastrous as it will be impossible to contain in that closed space.”

–Kashmiri Ahmed Bin Qasim whose mother & father are both political prisoners