The United Nations on Saturday expressed concern over reports of mass detentions in India during demonstrations in Delhi against alleged irregularities in the electoral process, calling on authorities to respect the right to peaceful assembly and immediately release all those arbitrarily detained.
In a statement, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said it was concerned about reports of detentions involving demonstrators, protest leaders, members of civil society organisations, lawyers and journalists before and during Saturday’s demonstrations.
“We call on the authorities to ensure that the right to peaceful assembly is fully respected and fulfilled,” the UN office said.
It added that restrictions on peaceful protests must meet strict tests of necessity and proportionality.
UN Calls for Restraint, Release of Detainees
The UN urged Indian authorities to ensure that law enforcement personnel exercised “utmost restraint” in responding to peaceful protesters, in line with the country’s democratic traditions and human rights obligations.
“All those arbitrarily detained must be immediately and unconditionally released,” the statement said.
The organisation also called on authorities to engage in meaningful dialogue to address the concerns raised by demonstrators.
The statement came amid a heavy police presence in the national capital and reports of widespread detentions as protesters attempted to march towards Jantar Mantar.
Protest Demands Chief Election Commissioner’s Resignation
The demonstrations were organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), with protesters demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The Election Commission has rejected allegations of wrongdoing over the revision exercise.
Reports on Saturday said thousands of people were detained as police restricted access to protest locations and enforced security measures across parts of central Delhi. Hindustan Times reported that more than 4,000 people marching towards Jantar Mantar had been detained.
Journalists, activists, lawyers and protest participants were also among those reportedly detained or prevented from reaching the demonstration site.
The UN statement did not name individual detainees but raised concerns about the reported scale of the detentions and called for the protection of peaceful assembly.
