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

An award-winning Kashmiri filmmaker has been detained by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Independent reported, citing his friends and supporters. ICE detained Arfat Sheikh at the Washington Dulles airport on September 24 while he was on his way to attend an 'Art as Resistance' panel, scheduled to take place at Busboys and Poets in Washington DC, the Independent reported.

Sheikh had just stepped off his flight from California when the ICE agents surrounded him and took him into custody without a warrant despite him presenting his immigration paperwork, his friends alleged. The 42-year-old Sheikh has been kept at the Caroline Detention Facility in Virginia and was expected to appear before an immigration judge on Tuesday.

He was travelling with author Tara Dorabji, who was one of the speakers at the September 26 panel, where she would address the experiences of the survivors of torture in Kashmir, Independent reported. ICE has not yet responded to the issue. On September 24th, 2026, our friend and filmmaker, Arfat Sheikh was unlawfully detained by ICE coming off a plane at Dulles Airport (IAD). #FreeArfatSheikh (1/5) — Free Arfat Sheikh (@freearfatsheikh) October 6, 2026 His friends, colleagues, Americans, and family have launched a campaign to raise $50,000 to pay for his legal representation.

About Arfat Sheikh Arfat Sheikh is a Kashmiri filmmaker, living in the US for the past few years. According to the Independent, his first feature film, Saffron Kingdom, which won him accolades, explores conflict, displacement, and identity in Kashmir. The film won him accolades at several independent film festivals.

At the Teaneck International Film Festival, 2025, Sheikh was named an Emerging Filmmaker Activist.