Amnesty criticises attacks by cow vigilantes, threat to journalists
February 23, 2018 00:04
Religious minorities in India faced increasing demonisation, global rights group Amnesty International said on Thursday, accusing Indian authorities of using laws to stifle freedom of expression in the country.
In its latest annual report, the group paints a bleak picture of the human rights situation in South Asia. With reference to India, it said incidents like cow vigilantism and lynchings in the name of beef-eating plagued India over the past year.
At least 10 Muslim men were lynched and many injured by vigilante cow protection groups, the report said, adding many of them seemed to operate with the support of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
The report also speaks about threats to journalists and the killing of Gauri Lankesh, an editor who was shot dead outside her residence in Bengaluru last year.
Several journalists and human rights defenders lost their lives. Freedom of expression in universities also remained under threat. Lankesh, an outspoken critic of Hindu nationalism and the caste system, was shot dead outside her home in Bengaluru by unidentified gunmen in September. Criminal defamation cases were brought against several journalists, the report said.
Repressive laws were used to stifle freedom of expression...state governments banned books, and the central film certification board denied the theatrical release of certain films, on vague and overly broad grounds, Amnesty said.
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