The International Commission of Jurists, a global human rights organisation, on Thursday called on the Indian authorities to remove barricades at farmers’ protest sites near Delhi and stop making arbitrary arrests in the aftermath of the violence during the Republic Day tractor rally.

The organisation said in a statement that the authorities have launched a crackdown on the farmers’ movement in an aggressive manner, instead of safeguarding their right to demonstrate peacefully.

“Since early February 2021, police have used metal barricades, cement walls and iron nails to block the roads leading to Tikri, Singhu, Ghazipur, the three main borders where the farmers have assembled,” the organisation said. “They have done so to prevent any vehicles from these areas entering Delhi.”

The human rights organisation added: “The barricades have also served to deny male and female farmers and their families, including children, consistent access to water and sanitation facilities. The protests at these sites over the past two months are reported to have been peaceful.”

The International Commission of Jurists also mentioned cases filed against journalists and missing protestors. “Two journalists [Mandeep Punia and Dharmender Singh] were detained and assaulted for reporting from the ground, while nine senior journalists have been threatened with criminal charges including sedition charges by the Indian government,” the organisation said. “More than 125 persons, including farmers and also bystanders have reportedly been arrested largely in response to a violent clash that occurred on 26 January, 2021. At least 21 farmers are reported to be currently missing.”

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Mentioning the mass arrests during the agitation against the Citizenship Amendment Act, the organisation noted that the suppression of peaceful protests has become a pattern in India. It said that even the Supreme Court had upheld the farmers’ right to protest, which can be exercised “subject to public order”.

“The ICJ called on the responsible authorities to remove barricades around protest sites, enable access to water and sanitation facilities and to desist from further arbitrary arrests,” the statement said.

The police crackdown on the farmers’ protest started after the tractor rally violence on January 26. Meanwhile, the Centre has also intensified its social media scrutiny. Earlier this month, it had directed Twitter to block nearly 1,200 accounts with suspected links to Khalistan sympathisers or Pakistan. Before that, it had asked for the removal of 250 accounts and tweets using the “ModiPlanningFarmerGenocide” hashtag.

The crackdown has also triggered international outrage. It began with pop star Rihanna’s tweet about internet cuts at protest sites near Delhi. Amid global outrage, the Indian government issued a statement calling the tweets supporting farmers a “sensationalist” attempt by “vested groups” to intervene in its internal matters. The government also roped in several celebrities to counter the international criticism on social media.