Kashmiri filmmaker Arfat Sheikh detained by ICE en route to ‘Art as Resistance’ panel

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained an award-winning Kashmiri filmmaker en route to a panel titled "Art as Resistance" in Washington DC, according to the Independent. The 42-year-old Arfat Sheikh was apprehended at the Washington Dulles airport on September 24 while he was about to board his flight to the event at Busboys and Poets.

He had just disembarked from his flight from California when ICE agents surrounded him and took him into custody without a warrant, despite presenting his immigration paperwork, according to friends and supporters. Sheikh is currently being held at the Caroline Detention Facility in Virginia and is scheduled to appear before an immigration judge on Tuesday.

He was traveling with author Tara Dorabji, who was set to speak at the September 26 panel about the experiences of torture survivors in Kashmir. Sheikh's first feature film, "Saffron Kingdom," won him accolades for its exploration of displacement, conflict, and identity in Kashmir.