Death in custody

INDONESIA: More die in Aceh police custody in alleged counter-terrorism operations

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about two killings that took place during a police operation in Aceh. The men died after police arrested them and took them to an area that they believed was being used by an armed group. Both detainees were unarmed and in custody but were […]

SRI LANKA: The murder of a witness by police must be independently investigated

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has gathered detailed information on the escalating harassment of criminal witness Saman Thialakasir by police before his murder in February. He was found dead the morning after he was picked up by officers. Saman had reported a case of illegal logging in his neighbourhood with suspected connections […]

UPDATE (Nepal): Father and son die in custody due to police torture in Panchthar district

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from a partner organization, The Advocacy Forum, (AF) that two civilians, Dal Bahadur and his son Bikram Gyanmi Magar, have died following brutal torture in police custody at Prangbung Police Post of Panchthar District on February 13, 2010 and February 21, 2010 respectively. We […]

UPDATE (Nepal): International campaign demanding prosecution of Maina Sunuwar’s murderers

Dear friends,  Amnesty International, supported by other civil society organisations such as the Advocacy Forum Nepal, is beginning an international campaign today to call for justice in the infamous case of murdered 15-year-old Maina Sunuwar. Four military officers are accused of having illegally arrested, raped and tortured Maina to death on 17 February 2004. Despite the […]

INDIA: Nine months into a case of custodial death, witness statements have still not been taken

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about unnecessary delays in the investigation of a man’s death in custody, following his arrest for a fabricated charge. It has been reported that police officers murdered the shop owner in February last year, however the investigating agency has not even recorded the statements […]

UPDATE (Philippines): The remains of two victims of extra-judicial execution have been stolen

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has just learned that the remains of two persons, believed to have been summarily executed by police officers, have been stolen from their graves. The family of the victims had requested that their bodies be exhumed to collect evidence, but they were told that there was no […]

INDIA: Encounter killing and custodial torture, a disgrace for the nation

Statement | India | 13-08-2009

India will celebrate its 62nd year of independence tomorrow. While politicians and national leaders celebrate the Independence Day, delivering speeches and attending dinners, they will have to struggle to explain why often men and women in the country lose their life each year in encounters with the law enforcement agencies. The policy makers of the […]

PAKISTAN: A young man is tortured and killed by alleged intelligence agents on the UN day against torture

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that as people around the world gathered to observe the UN day in support of torture victims, Inter-Service Intelligence agents in the north of Pakistan were fatally torturing a young man in their custody. The case has increased tensions between the police in Gilgit, […]

UPDATE (Thailand): Court condones the death by suffocation of 78 men in military trucks

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) deeply regrets to inform you that after a four-year-long post mortem inquest, a provincial court in Southern Thailand has absolved all officials and military persons of responsibility for the deaths of 78 persons at Tak Bai, Narathiwat. The court admits that the victims suffocated to death, but […]

SRI LANKA: Suspicious death after being assaulted in prison

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the assault and subsequent death of a man in Wariyapola prison on December 22, 2008. He was severely assaulted by prison guards and left without medical attention even though he had sustained serious injuries. He was transferred to another prison where he was […]

SRI LANKA: Policemen have yet to be charged over the custodial death of a man

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that the policemen responsible for the death of a man while in their custody eight months ago have not been charged, despite recommendation by the court in a death inquest that they should be prosecuted.  CASE DETAILS: (Based on the testimony of the victim’s […]

SRI LANKA: Custodial death in Negombo; prime witness assaulted by jailors

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that an inmate died in Negombo prison after being assaulted by jail guards on 4 July 2008. While the investigation was being conducted, Miswar, the prime witness in the case was attacked by jail guards who did not want him to come before the […]

UPDATE (Thailand): A Commander tries to exonerate himself and his men over an Imam’s death

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed about the post-mortem court inquiry on June 30 into the death of an Imam while in military custody. It confirmed the earlier autopsy report that his broken ribcage and punctured lungs were a result of severe beatings. The Acting-Commander is trying to exonerate himself […]

CAMBODIA: Police allegedly extort bribes in arrest in Rattanakiri province

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that the police allegedly ordered parents to pay a bribe of 150000 riels (US$37.5) each if their sons were not to be arrested after these youths had damaged a party sign in Soeung commune, Bor Keo district, Rattankiri province. On 2 July 2008, they arrested […]

BANGLADESH: Justice denied to another custodial death case

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from ODHIKAR, a Dhaka-based human rights organization that a man was found dead after he was left by Detective officers in hospital on 19 April 2008. The police claimed that Fakir felt ill during police remand and was taken to the hospital. However, the […]

UPDATE(Thailand): Inquest into custodial death of Yapa opens in Narathiwas

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed by the Muslim Attorney Center (MAC) that the first inquest day regarding the death of Imam Yapa in Narathiwat, southern Thailand. He was allegedly tortured to death in a military camp on 21 March 2008. The trial will open in Narathiwas provincial court. The […]

INDONESIA: A man dies in police custody following arrest

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that a man has died in police custody following his arrest after he was falsely accused of stealing a palm oil nut on 26 March 2008. The police officer and three unidentified companions, who had taken the victim with them, have not been […]

SRI LANKA: Custodial death of young man

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the suspicious death of a young man in the Gampaha Police Station on 7 April 2008 after arrest. The police reported that he had committed suicide and when his relatives asked for an investigation no response has received. CASE DETAILS: According to the […]

INDIA: Peoples’ Tribunal on Custodial Torture to be held in Varanasi

Dear friends, Greetings from the PVCHR and the EU-FNST-PWTN National Project on Prevention of Torture, Uttar Pradesh state The EU-FNST-Peoples’ Watch Tamil Nadu (PWTN) National Project of Preventing Torture in India and the Peoples’ Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) carried out a study and documentation of more than 800 cases of police torture in […]

UPDATE (Thailand): Another torture reported in the South; dead body bears marks of torture

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been further informed by the Working Group on Justice for Peace (WGJP) about another case of the alleged torture of a man, who was arbitrarily arrested and detained by the military in southern Thailand. Meanwhile, when relatives of Yapa (AHRC-UAC-055-2008) took possession of his body, marks […]