HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH - India: Deadly Force Used Against Protesters Police Target Anti-Citizenship Law Demonstrators
The Indian authorities should cease using
unnecessary lethal force against demonstrators protesting a law that
discriminates against Muslims, Human Rights Watch said today. Since protests
against the Citizenship Amendment Act began on December 12, 2019, at least 25 people have been killed and hundreds have been
arrested.
Police have used excessive force only against demonstrators protesting
the law, including many students. All the deaths have occurred in states
governed by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP): 18 in Uttar Pradesh, 5 in Assam, and 2 in Karnataka. Most of those killed have been Muslims, including an 8-year-old boy
in Uttar Pradesh. Scores of police officers have been injured. The authorities
have also used a colonial-era law, internet shutdowns,
and limits on public transportation to prevent peaceful
anti-citizenship law protests. The police have, however, not interfered with
demonstrators supporting the law, including ruling party leaders who have advocated violence.
“Indian police, in many areas, have been cracking down on
anti-citizenship law protests with force, including unnecessary deadly force,”
said Meenakshi
Ganguly, South Asia director. “The authorities should prosecute violent
protesters, but they also need to hold police officers to account for using
excessive force.” Most of the violence by protesters and the police has been in Uttar
Pradesh state. There, the chief minister vowed “revenge” against protesters, saying, “All properties
of those involved in damaging public assets will be seized and auctioned to
compensate for the losses.” Soon after, the state authorities cracked down
on Muzaffarnagar district and sealed nearly 70 shops
without providing a legal basis....
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