AGENCIES
NEW DELHI, MAR 29
Amnesty International India on Wednesday asked the Uttar Pradesh authorities to bring to justice those responsible for recent racist attacks against black African students and ensure the students’ safety.
“The recent attacks in Uttar Pradesh show how black people in India – particularly African students – continue to face racist discrimination and violence. Many of those injured were targeted merely because of the colour of their skin. These are hate crimes, and authorities need to ensure that those responsible are punished,” said Makepeace Sitlhou, Campaigner at Amnesty International India.
Several black African students have been attacked in a series of hate crimes in Greater Noida over the last three days. On Wednesday, a Kenyan woman was pulled out of a taxicab and beaten in Greater Noida. On 27 March, four Nigerian men were beaten up by locals holding a protest march demanding justice for a 17-year-old who had died two days earlier from a suspected drug overdose. The boy’s family had accused their five Nigerian neighbors of murder and demanded their arrest. The men were arrested, and later released due to lack of evidence.
The Noida police later booked over 300 people and arrested five people in connection with the assault on Nigerian students.
Earlier, an association of African students has demanded adequate security for African students in the country. “In Greater Noida, they (locals) say that Africans ‘we don’t want you to be here anymore’. These are actually hate crimes towards African community.
