Enforced disappearances and abductions

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from local human rights organisation Odhikar that the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) caused a man to disappear. After his abduction, they ex-filtrated him from among a group of criminals. The reason for this was the failure of the family to pay bribes. Officers of the RAB-2 […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a student from Sindh province who was arrested by uniformed persons on May 9, 2012, has been dumped on the roadside having endured severe torture. His condition is critical and doctors have lost hope for his recovery if he is not been provided […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a former militant (a Jihadi) was abducted by persons from intelligence agencies of the military and was later disappeared from Pakistani Kashmir. He was tortured and suffered a heart attack during the illegal custody. He was disappeared at the time he had the […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission has received information that a man disappeared after being taken into police custody in Banke district. He was arrested on 6 September 2012 under allegations of rape and the police reported that he escaped custody on 8 September. Nevertheless, since then neither his family members nor his friends […]

While the daughter of the chief minister of Punjab remains at large her husband, Ali Imran Yousuf, has been arrested in an effort to show that the chief minister is willing to respect the rule of law. The entire provincial machinery is attempting to influence the witnesses and manipulate the case in favour of chief […]

There was an attempted abduction of the Secretary to the Judicial Service Commission on October 7, near the St. Thomas College gymnasium. Had the attempted abduction of Manjula Tilakaratne succeeded, what might have happened is hard to guess. However, judging from previous abductions it is quite possible that he may have ended up in one […]

(Hong Kong, October 10, 2012) The Asian Human Rights Commission today wrote a letter to Ms. Gabriella Knaul, the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers informing her of the attempted abduction and assault of Mrs. Manjula Tilakaratne, the secretary of the Judicial Service Commission of Sri Lanka. The AHRC stated that: The […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) adds its voice to the chorus of concern over the promotion of Colonel Raju Basnet to the rank of Brigadier General of the Nepal Army, in spite of the seriousness of the allegations of human rights violations brought against him. Colonel Raju Basnet, then Lieutenant Colonel, was in charge […]

(Hong Kong & Bhopal – India, October 6, 2012) The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is certain that you are all aware of the developments in Barwani where a peaceful march by the indigenous people under the banner of Jagrit Dalit Adivasi Sangthan (JADS) was first stopped and attacked by the thugs allegedly led by the […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a businessman named Mr. Md. Karamat Ali of Satkhira district town has been missing for ten years. Md. Hossain Ali, the prime suspect in the disappearance of the victim, has run a business right in front of the police station for the past ten […]

Honorable guests and friends: I would like to thank you for the invitation of Odhikar to this important meeting to advocate for the Accession to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances. Enforced disappearance is among the most serious violations of human rights. According to the International Convention for the […]

Dhaka, Sept 16, 2012: In light of repeated incidents of enforced disappearance in the country, members of parliament, judiciary, administration, families of the disappeared and rights activists urged the Bangladesh government for immediate accession to the International Convention for the Protection of All persons from Enforced Disappearance (The Convention), for which generations of victims have […]

Yesterday, we discussed several protests that took place in Asia. They are the students protest in Hong Kong; the protests of the people fighting against eviction from their lands by the Onkareshwar Dam project in Madhya Pradesh, India; the fight against the abuse of blasphemy law in Pakistan in the case of Rimsha, the 14-year-old […]

It is very heartening that the five member delegation of the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) is, at the time of writing visiting Pakistan. The delegation is on a 10-day official mission on enforced or involuntary disappearances and will hold meetings with the federal and provincial government authorities, representatives of […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is saddened that after eight years of the assassination of Munir Said Thalib, there has been no sign from the government that it will take the necessary measures to bring those responsible for the killing to justice. Munir was a prominent and outspoken human rights activist in Indonesia. On […]

The ‘Fair Trial Bill’ which, according to the news report, the government plans to place before parliament will, if passed, virtually make the fair trial impossible in Pakistan. The provisions of the bill are designed for the conviction of persons without fair trial. The direct impact of the proposed law will be to tie the […]

Forced disappearances have left quite an impression on the psyche of the Sri Lankan people living in all parts of the country. Since 1971, there has been continuous use of enforced disappearances as a tool by the state, for what they referred to as the maintenance of “law and order”. The result is a negative […]

On the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, it is very disappointing that no serious effort has been taken to resolve the issue of enforced disappearances in Pakistan which are carried out by the armed forces, intelligences agencies and other law enforcement agencies. Despite the formation of several judicial and official commissions on […]

Photos depict the Monument for the Disappeared at Raddoluwa Junction, Seeduwa Today, August 30th, is the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances defines enforced disappearances as: “…….the arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty by agents of […]

Bangkok, Thailand and Manila, Philippines: JPF and AFAD call on the government to ensure remedies for victims of Enforced Disappearances and ratify the UN Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance Bangkok, 30 August, 2012: On the occasion of International Day of the Disappeared, the Justice for Peace Foundation (JPF) and the […]