Arbitrary arrest & detention

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police has arrested Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan, one of most respected human rights defenders in Bangladesh and the Secretary of Odhikar. A group of plain clothed men picked up Mr. Adilur from his residence at 10:20 p.m., […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is informed that, at 10:20 p.m., on 10 August, officers from the Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police have taken into custody, Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan, one of the most respected human rights defenders in Bangladesh, from his residence in Dhaka. Adilur is the Secretary of Odhikar, a prominent […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the arrest of three activists whowere involved in a network to support for farmers whose land was confiscated by the armyin central Burma. Thelocal authorities have lodged charges against all three of them for failing to register their network as an organization, and […]

(Hong Kong, 19 July, 2013) “If one innocent person is killed by [the] police or other security forces in a fake encounter, it creates tremendous upsurge of hatred…people always accurately know who was innocent. People even know whether an innocent person was killed by mistake or deliberately…” said the Commission of Inquiry constituted by the […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a petty businessman named Mr. Rizvi Hassan is detained in Chittagong Central Jail since 18 April 2013 in four criminal cases allegedly fabricated by the police. Rizvi was arrested by the police without any specific charge on 26 March 2013. Since then, the […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that police officers have been exonerated (by their own internal inquiry) from charges of killing a young Christian, who was tortured to death while being kept in illegal detention. After the killing, in a bid to fool the Christian community, senior police officials announced […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the case of a land rights activist who was tortured to death while detained in police custody in Burma. The officers at the police station detained U Than Htun illegally. After three days of detention, the police informed his family that he died […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a young businessman named Shamim Reza was tortured to death by police officers of Sonargaon police station in Narayanganj distirct. The police, on 14 May 2013, illegally arrested Shamim without any warrant of arrest issued by Court. In violation of Bangladesh’s constitutional provision, […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. Sundaramani Sivakumar (36) was illegally arrested and detained by the Terrorist Investigation Division at the Kandy Headquarters Police Station where he was forced, under torture and threats to his life to sign blank pages. The officers then later filed fabricated charges to […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the police officers of the Kandy Headquarters Police Station detained three underage children in a police cell overnight without the attendance of either a woman police officer or a matron as prescribed by the Police Standing Orders. When Bro Anton Joe, who was […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a young electrician was severely tortured during the police custody in City Police Station. He was forcibly arrested when the policemen asked him to fix a problem with the car of the Station house officer (SHO). The victim of torture was severely injured […]

Dear friends, Kopiya Waththage Don Chaminda Priyantha Kumara was accused of having stolen a mobile phone and arrested by officers of the Kalutara South Police Station. After severely beating him and forcing him to sign a statement which he was not permitted to read they implicated him in further unsolved cases. He was taken to […]

Dear friends, Mr. Madawala Maddumage Don Aruna Nilupul Indika (39) is an interior designer by profession. After he completed a job at the house of Anoma Siriweera, an Attorney-at-law, the lady’s husband approached Nilupul and told him that their house had been burgled and that he suspected Nilupul of having done it. Nilupul denied the […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. Chandila Padmakumara Gurusinghe (35), of Kiripedda, Babuwo Kanda, Karandeniya in Galle District was illegally arrested, tortured and humiliated by officers of the Karandeniya Police Station. The officers tricked him into accompanying him saying that they had a job for him at the […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about the case of a young man whom the authorities in Burma have accused of involvement in a bombing nearby government offices. Police alleged that Kyaw Swa Lin was involved merely because he was found to have a diary in his house with some […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed that an ailing man whom the police have illegally arrested and detained as a substitute for a wanted man will not be released from jail. The police justified their action by insisting they had proof that the victim’s facial features and those of the […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. Dewasundaralage Thushar was illegally arrested, detained, brutally tortured and laid with fabricated charges. Thushara has been falsely charged with obstructing officers of the Department of Excise and having illegal liquor. The officers concerned asked Thushara to identify the person who was manufacturing […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. Krishnaswami Ramachandran was arrested on suspicion of his involvement in the bomb blast at Daladha Maligawa in 1998. He was tortured and the charges were based on the confession he was forced to give under duress. In 2003 he was sentenced to […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the punishment of three police officers who tortured and shot a 23-year-old man, Yusli, in 2011. The court sentenced two of the officers to two years of imprisonment and the other one to five years. It found the officers were responsible for […]

News reports from Bangladesh allege that a series of attacks on demonstrators have taken place, at around 3am today, May 6, 2013. The extent of the injuries and death is difficult to be ascertained at the moment. The Daily Star, a Bangladeshi newspaper, gave the figure of deaths as 5. However, several internet reports have mentioned that the […]