Statement

In the follow up to the love marriage of Miss Firdous Shaheen with Mr. Zamir Lone, the administration of Pakistani Kashmir recovered Mrs Rshida and Rubina, Zamir’s mother and sister on July 12, after their abduction by powerful people on June 29, and released the father and two brothers who were arrested on charges of […]

The concern expressed by the Kerala State Police Officers’ Association regarding the safety of police officers in the backdrop of the recurring incidents of assaults upon police officers in the state is an issue of high concern. In a resolution drafted by the officers after holding a meeting yesterday at Thiruvanandapuram in Kerala state, the […]

On July 8, 2009, late at night, around 60 persons, claiming themselves as Taliban, attacked the house of a Journalist, Mr. Rahman Bunaireeri, at Poland, Buner district, North West Frontier Province (NWFP). In the said area, the Pakistan army has been conducting operations against the Taliban since the last two months. Members of the Taliban […]

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following statement from Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ———— A Statement from Human Rights Commission of Pakistan forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission According to six monthly statistics pertaining to Karachi city, maintained by Sindh provincial chapter of Human […]

Indonesia’s Presidential election goes into its first round on July 8, 2009. This second election process in Post-Suharto Indonesia is an important step in the countries short democratic history, yet it remains flawed with shadows of the countries past military rule. Two of the three presidential candidates have made a very careless choice by nominating […]

(This statement first appeared as an article in the Sri Lanka Guardian on July 4th 2009 – Editor) “The case of Shantha Fernando like several others is demonstrating sinister developments where guilt and innocence may have nothing to do with the punishments that may be meted out to an individual.” (July 05, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) […]

The violent attacks on the Christian community are continuing while the government claims that it is providing equal rights to religious minorities, including Christians. These attacks are being conducted by the Muslim religious leaders who, at the behest of land-grabbers, deliver very provocative speeches against the Christian community, maligning them for disrespecting the last Prophet […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AHRC-STM-149-2009 June 26, 2009 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission SRI LANKA: Authorities complicit in widespread torture The International Day in Support of Victims of Torture is recognised annually on the 26thJune. It is a day devoted to the promotion of the idea of a torture-free world. It is also […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  AHRC-STM-150-2009 June 26, 2009 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission INDIA: Media’s ignorance is suicidal The world today observes the International Day in Support of the Victims of Torture. Human rights organisations inside and outside India observes the day as an occasion to reach out to the victims of torture […]

On 14 May 2009, the United Nation’s Committee Against Torture released its recommendations (CAT/C/PHL/CO2) following the conclusion of its periodic review of the Philippines on its implementation of the Convention Against Torture, and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT). The Philippines is a State party to the Convention since its ratification on […]

On 2 February 2009, India’s electronic media aired a short video displaying the shocking brutality practiced by the country’s law enforcement agencies. The video showed eight-year-old Komal, a Dalit girl, being publicly tortured in Kailokhar village, Uttar Pradesh. The police officer torturing Komal held her up by her hair, twisted her ears and rained blows […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  AHRC-STM-147-2009 June 24, 2009 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the occasion of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, June 26 SOUTH KOREA: The definition of torture and rehabilitation for torture victims are urgently needed The practice of torture through illegal detention was common during the […]

On June 25, 2009 Indonesia’s new police regulations will come into effect, just one day before the UN International Day in Support of the Victims of Torture this Friday, June 26. While the new regulations are a steppingstone to the long-awaited police reforms in Indonesia, the key to end the prevalent practice of torture is to criminalize […]

Between 1975 and 1979 the Cambodian people suffered one of the world’s most brutal regimes, the Khmer Rouge, which used, among things, torture as a means to assert its rule. In its notorious Tuol Sleng Torture Centre in Phnom Penh, some 16,000 Cambodians died horribly by the systematic use of torture by the Khmer Rouge […]

From 1971 until the defeat of the LTTE there has been a continuous period of violence where both rebel groups and the state engaged in an attempt to outdo each other in brutality. One of the consequences of this period was the virtual destruction of the system of civilian policing. Now, with the end of […]

The practice of torture is endemic in Asia, and the region’s governments show no political will to eliminate it. In fact, states treat torture as a necessary aspect of social control, directly or indirectly approving the practice. The clearest indication of the states’ unwillingness to eliminate torture is the refusal to criminalise the practice, as […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  AHRC-STM-143-2009 June 23, 2009 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the Occasion of the International Day against Torture, 26 June 2009 BANGLADESH: Bangladesh’s Parliament urged to criminalise torture Article 35 (5) of the Constitution of Bangladesh states: “No person shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or […]

Torture in custody is a very common phenomenon in Pakistan because of the rouged legal system and impotent rule of law. The laws of the land are silent on the issue of torture by the law enforcement agencies. The Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) has no specific section about torture; it deals only about the word […]

The Indian state of West Bengal is once again in the news for condemnable reasons. In a short span, the conflict in Lalgarh of West Midnapore district has increased in intensity, costing life and property. Today, the Maoists have called for a 48-hour-long strike paralysing life in almost the entire state. Violence propagated by the […]

Amarakoon Dissanayake Sarath Kumara went to the Supreme Court to complain that he was assaulted by several police officers, and was also abused by them. He was then forcibly taken to a police station where he was falsely charged and produced before a Magistrate’s Court. Due to the attack he was seriously injured and had […]