Advocates decry detention of Kashmiri filmmaker Arfat Sheikh by ICE in US

Arfat Sheikh was arrested at Washington Dulles International Airport on September 24, advocacy group says.

Arfat Sheikh [Courtesy of Free Arfat Sheikh campaign]

Supporters of Kashmiri filmmaker Arfat Sheikh have called for his immediate release after he was arrested by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents last month.

“Sheikh was unlawfully detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement at Washington Dulles International Airport on September 24, 2026,” the Free Arfat Sheikh campaign, an advocacy group, said in a statement on Tuesday.

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The 42-year-old artist, who resides in Alexandria, Virginia, arrived in the US on a student visa in 2019 to pursue graduate studies in film at Georgia State University and sought asylum in 2020, the campaign said.

Sheikh is being held in the Caroline Detention Facility in Bowling Green, Virginia, it added.

The filmmaker was scheduled to appear before an immigration judge on Tuesday for a procedural hearing alongside a bond assessment, the press release said.

There has been no comment regarding the detention from ICE or the Department of Homeland Security.

Sheikh’s first feature film Saffron Kingdom garnered multiple honours, notably Best Feature Film at the Chicago Filmmakers Awards, LA Film and Documentary Awards, Melbourne Independent Film Festival, Wake Forest Film Festival, and Anatolian International Film Awards, the advocacy campaign noted.

In 2025, Sheikh was also recognised with the Emerging Filmmaker Activist Award at the Teaneck International Film Festival.

Sheikh’s detention comes as the number of ICE arrests across the US hit record levels this summer, with about 50,000 arrests recorded in July and August.

维权组织称，阿尔法特·谢赫于9月24日在华盛顿杜勒斯国际机场被捕。

阿尔法特·谢赫 [图片由“释放阿尔法特·谢赫”运动提供]

克什米尔电影制片人阿尔法特·谢赫的支持者呼吁立即释放他，此前他于上个月被美国移民和海关执法局（ICE）特工逮捕。

“2026年9月24日，谢赫在华盛顿杜勒斯国际机场被美国移民和海关执法局非法拘留，”倡导组织“释放阿尔法特·谢赫”运动周二在一份声明中表示。

名单1/3：一名移民及海关执法局（ICE）特工被控就明尼苏达州枪击案作伪证

（共3条）移民执法局袭击抗议者后，要求调查的呼声日益高涨

问题 3（共 3 题）：亲巴勒斯坦活动家马哈茂德·哈利勒为何起诉哥伦比亚大学？

该活动称，这位 42 岁的艺术家居住在弗吉尼亚州亚历山大市，2019 年持学生签证来到美国，在佐治亚州立大学攻读电影研究生学位，并于 2020 年寻求庇护。

声明还补充说，谢赫目前被关押在弗吉尼亚州鲍灵格林的卡罗琳拘留中心。

新闻稿称，这位电影制作人原定于周二出庭，接受移民法官的程序性听证和保释金评估。

美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）和国土安全部均未对此事发表评论。

宣传活动指出，谢赫的首部故事长片《藏红花王国》获得了多项荣誉，其中包括芝加哥电影人奖、洛杉矶电影和纪录片奖、墨尔本独立电影节、维克森林电影节和安纳托利亚国际电影奖的最佳故事片奖。

2025年，谢赫还在蒂内克国际电影节上获得了新兴电影人活动家奖。

谢赫被拘留之际，美国移民及海关执法局 (ICE) 今年夏天在全美范围内的逮捕人数创下历史新高，7 月和 8 月的逮捕人数约为 5 万人。