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Anti-CAA protests not allowed in PM Modi's Varanasi: Amnesty

Last Updated 17 January 2020, 07:27 IST

Anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests are not being allowed in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi, where marches in favour of the controversial legislation are permitted by the administration, the Amnesty International India (AII) has claimed in a report.

The AII urged the Prime Minister and the Uttar Pradesh government to end the "gross violations of the right to peaceful assembly" in Varanasi and other parts of the state.

After interacting with people in Varanasi, the AII claimed permission for peaceful agitations have been denied, protesters have been arrested while the police have used excessive force besides "openly" threatening and intimidating those protesting against the CAA.

It said "brutal crackdown" on peaceful protest, which is "continuing", must end immediately. Protesters said that the police have asked them not to protest again. The district administration supports those who organise solidarity marches for CAA but "denies space for anti-CAA protesters displaying differential treatment," the protesters claimed.

"This type of policing appears deliberate, raising concerns that state law enforcement actors may favour pro-government and nationalist demonstrations over other types of assemblies," the AII warned.

"Arbitrary detention, use of excessive force, differential treatment of assemblies and torture in custody have sadly become commonplace in Uttar Pradesh. The way the Uttar Pradesh government has by and large chosen to respond to the anti-CAA protests in Varanasi and other regions of UP has been massively disproportionate, unwarranted and unlawful," it said.

The AII also claimed that arrested protesters were kept in custody for over 15 days, despite securing bail.

It also found fault with the continuous imposition of prohibitory orders under Section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), saying peaceful protest is a fundamental aspect of a vibrant society.

The body emphasized that any restrictions imposed under the blanket imposition of Section 144 CrPC, which prevent people from assembling together in Varanasi, do not meet all elements of legality, necessity and proportionality constituting violations of the right.

The AII said activists told them the administration impose Section 144 "359 out of 365 days" in Varanasi. "The days it is not imposed are those when Prime Minister Modi comes to Varanasi," it quoted a student of Banaras Hindu University (BHU), who was arrested, as saying.

Separately, the jury report of a Peoples' Tribunal hearing on Thursday in the national capital claimed that the state of affairs in Uttar Pradesh shows a "complete collapse" of the rule of law. "In fact, the very state administration that is charged with protecting the rule of law is perpetrating violence upon its own people," the Peoples' Tribunal jury report said.

"The entire state machinery, led from the top, acted with grave prejudice and perpetrated violence targeting one particular community, the state's Muslim population, and the social activists leading the movement," the report said on the police and administration actions against anti-CAA protesters in the state.

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(Published 17 January 2020, 07:27 IST)

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