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Protesters against the citizenship law in the state of Maharashtra, in the west of India, on December 27, 2019. REUTERS / Stringer

In India, a Norwegian tourist and a German student were expelled from the country for participating in the protest movement against the citizenship law, which was denounced as discriminating against Muslims. These expulsions come after more than two weeks of sometimes violent protests.

Janne Mette Johansson is the second European woman to be ordered to leave the country this week after participating in protests against the controversial citizenship law . This Norwegian septuagenarian tourist claims to have been subjected to interrogation and " psychological torture ", according to her words, by immigration officials.

► Also read: India: Narendra Modi's party mobilizes for the citizenship law

This Friday, December 27, the services asked her to leave the country or she would be deported. Earlier in the week, a German student Jakob Lindenthal suffered the same fate after posting on social media photos of him in a protest with a sign with an inscription comparing the controversial law to the anti-Jewish laws of Nazi Germany.

Internet suspended in 21 Muslim-majority districts

This law, supposed to facilitate the granting of Indian nationality to non-Muslim refugees, has angered thousands of demonstrators for more than two weeks. The repression by the authorities resulted in the deaths of at least 27 people. Over 5,000 protesters have been detained.

This Friday, in anticipation of new potentially violent protests, notably in Uttar Pradesh , the authorities deployed large armed security forces and suspended mobile internet and texting in 21 out of 75 Muslim-majority districts in the state.

In Bombay, the economic capital, hundreds of police were deployed and dozens of checkpoints were set up. But a counter-demonstration of 200 people in favor of the law was held in the city.