Amnesty Slams Police Action Against Jamia, AMU Students
Students of Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, an Islamic university, are stopped by police during a protest against the citizenship law, in Lucknow on December 16, 2019
The Amnesty International India on Monday slammed the police for its “violent” action against students at Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) protesting against the amended citizenship act.
It said the allegations that the police brutally beat up and sexually harassed Jamia students must be investigated and those responsible prosecuted.
The human rights body’s executive director, Avinash Kumar, in a statement said the arrest of protesters violates India’s obligations under international law, specifically the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to respect and protect the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, set out in Article 19 and Article 21 of that treaty.
“Students have the right to protest. Violence against them cannot under any circumstance be justified,” he said, referring to media reports on police baton charge against the protesting AMU students.
