New Delhi: On Tuesday, June 14, rights organisation Amnesty International India issued a press release in which it called on Indian government authorities to put an end to the excessive force deployed against peaceful protesters across the country and various violations of international human rights law and standards.The rights body’s statement comes against the backdrop of widespread protests across the country in response to derogatory comments made against Prophet Mohammad by now-suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nupur Sharma during a TV debate on Times Now, and the same being repeated online by fellow BJP leader Naveen Kumar Jindal, who has since been expelled from the party.As the release mentions, protests calling for the two BJP leaders to be arrested have been witnessed in numerous Indian states, such as Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir and Telangana. According to the authorities, hundreds of people have been arrested from across the country for participating in the protests. Moreover, numerous people have been injured and some even killed due to police action against the protesters. As such, Amnesty, in the release, called for an end to the excessive police action and for the “immediate and unconditional release” of those arrested “solely for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly”.The release also quotes Aakar Patel, chair of the Amnesty International India board, who says that the Union government is “selectively and viciously” targeting Muslims who are exercising their right to dissent peacefully.“Cracking down on protesters with excessive use of force, arbitrary detention and punitive house demolitions by Indian authorities is in complete violation of India’s commitments under international human rights law and standards,”the release quotes Patel as saying.Patel was formerly the executive director of Amnesty India, the Indian chapter of the rights body which shuttered operations in 2020 after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) froze its assets for alleged violations of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).Recent incidents of excessive forceThe Amnesty press release makes specific mention of the protest in Jharkhand’s Ranchi on June 10 in which the police opened fire to deal with the protesting crowd.Over 18 individuals sustained injuries and two were killed in the police action. Of the two fatalities, one was a 20-year-old while the other was just 15, the Indian Express had reported.Also read: ‘Make Protesters’ Names Public, Display Photos in Hoardings’: Jharkhand Governor Tells Top CopThe rights body cites the ‘United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials’ which mentions that law enforcement personnel should only use the amount of force necessary to achieve a ‘legitimate law enforcement purpose’. The same principles detail that the police may only use firearms as a last resort and that “the intentional lethal use of firearms is only permissible if strictly unavoidable in order to protect life.”Another incident from the June 10 protests detailed in the press release is the widely-circulated online video of police personnel mercilessly beating a number of male protesters with batons while in police custody. The video is purported to have been from Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district.The release points out that former police officers and members of the ruling party “celebrated” the video rather than criticising it, such as BJP legislator Shalabh Mani Tripathi, who shared the video from his own Twitter handle, calling it a “return gift” for the protestors.बलवाइयों को “रिटर्न गिफ़्ट” !! pic.twitter.com/6qQo74SNUj— Dr. Shalabh Mani Tripathi (@shalabhmani) June 11, 2022“Baton strikes while a subject is under control are unnecessary and disproportionate, and amount to using batons punitively – which amounts to torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, a violation of international law,” the release reads.Patel, quoted in the release, speaks of efforts to lump all protesters – including peaceful ones – as a threat to public order; which he describes as “deeply worrying” and an “alarming escalation of the state’s measures targeting Muslims”.“Unfortunately, the Prime Minister and various state chief ministers have done little to show that they disapprove of any statement portraying Muslims as a risk for public order or embedding other stereotypes and prejudices that may contribute to justifying discrimination and violence against Muslims. They should publicly show their opposition for any such statement” said Aakar Patel.On bulldozer justiceThe rights body’s release goes on to highlight the developing trend of authorities using retributive demolitions against protesters and dissenters; something seen in the aftermath of the June 10 protests in Uttar Pradesh as well.It details the manner in which the home of activist and Welfare Party of India leader Javed Mohammad was demolished in the wake of the protests, without proper procedures being followed.“On 10 June, activist Javed Mohammed, his wife and younger daughter were detained along with many others by the police. On 11 June, a backdated notice was pasted on the wall of the family’s house at 11 pm in the night before the planned demolition,” the release reads.Also read: Prayagraj: Activist Afreen Fatima’s House Razed to the Ground“While the authorities cited illegal construction as the reason for demolition, the notice was issued in the name of Javed Mohammed who did not even own the demolished property. On 12 June, the authorities demolished the two-storey house amounting to a punitive measure and a violation of the right to adequate housing,” it continues.Amnesty describes the razing of Mohammad’s home as a “complete departure form the due process of the law” and as being in “absolute violation of the right to adequate housing as enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to which India is a state party”.The release concludes with another statement from Patel, which reads, “The state’s response to current protests is not only deplorable but also marks the latest escalation in the suppression of dissent. The Indian authorities must carry out a prompt, thorough, effective, impartial and independent investigation into all the human rights violations allegedly committed by law enforcement officials and other public officials against protesters and human rights defenders. Law enforcement officials who used the force excessively should be charged, whenever there is enough evidence. Victims should also have access to reparations including compensation.”