Kashmiri filmmaker Arfat Sheikh detained by ICE at Dulles Airport

Srinagar: Kashmiri filmmaker Arfat Sheikh, who has lived in the United States since 2019, was detained by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at Washington Dulles International Airport on September 24.

According to an advocacy campaign seeking his release, Sheikh, 42, was travelling with award-winning author and filmmaker Tara Dorabji to attend an 'Art as Resistance' panel at Busboys and Poets in Washington, DC.

He was allegedly surrounded and detained by multiple ICE agents after stepping off a flight at Dulles. Sheikh has a pending immigration application and is authorised to live and work in the United States. According to some of his friends who are demanding his release, he is being held at Caroline Detention Center in Bowling Green, Virginia.


The 'Free Arfat Sheikh Campaign' alleged that Sheikh was arrested without a warrant despite presenting his immigration documents. According to the campaign, Sheikh entered the US legally on a student visa in 2019 to pursue graduate studies in film at Georgia State University. He later filed for asylum in 2020 and has a pending immigration application. His debut award-winning feature film, 'Saffron Kingdom', explores decades of conflict in Kashmir.