GENEVA — United Nations experts called on Indian authorities Tuesday to investigate reported abuses during recent youth-led demonstrations and to stop using excessive force and broad restrictions against peaceful protesters.
The experts said police responses in New Delhi and elsewhere over the past three months fit a wider pattern of limits on peaceful assembly, arbitrary detention and alleged mistreatment of activists.
“This crackdown reflects a broader, troubling pattern,” the experts said in an Oct. 20 statement issued by the U.N. human rights office. “We have repeatedly alerted the Indian authorities to undue restrictions on peaceful assembly, excessive use of force, arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, and the targeting of student activists, amongst others.”
Hundreds of thousands of students and supporters have gathered in several parts of India in recent months to oppose government decisions concerning education and, more recently, voter-roll deletions affecting 130 million people, according to information cited by the experts. Those affected reportedly include members of the Muslim minority and Scheduled Castes and Tribes.
The experts said law enforcement agencies reportedly used lathi charges against unarmed students and prevented thousands of people from joining demonstrations. More than 7,000 youths, journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers and political party members were reportedly detained recently in New Delhi and taken to remote detention centers. Their phones were allegedly seized and protest-related material deleted. Most were released after 24 hours, including protest leaders.
Some protesters sustained injuries and reported mistreatment, the statement said. The experts expressed particular concern about allegations of sexual violence and other gender-based abuse during protests and detention.
They also cited reports that authorities invoked Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, India’s criminal procedure code, to impose broad bans on gatherings, suspend public transportation and shut down internet access.
“We call on the authorities to immediately cease the use of excessive force, rescind blanket assembly bans, and refrain from the misuse of digital surveillance, including through biometrics, and internet disruptions,” the experts said.
The experts asked for an independent, impartial and thorough investigation into the conduct of law enforcement and affiliated forces, along with accountability, justice and reparations for victims.
They also referred to a March case in which 10 student and labor-rights activists were reportedly detained by plainclothes officers in New Delhi, held incommunicado for more than 24 hours and allegedly subjected to ill-treatment, threats, coercion and forced declarations. The activists were released after habeas corpus proceedings, according to the statement.
“The Government must guarantee non-recurrence and uphold the democratic right of students and others to assemble and express grievances,” the experts said. “Particular attention must be paid to the gender-specific impact of restrictions on peaceful assembly and reprisals against protesters.”
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