Enforced disappearances and abductions

Shantha Wijesooriya, an investigative web journalist attached to srilankaxnews.com freed himself after a scuffle with his abductors, when they tried to bundle him into a vehicle in broad daylight in Nugegoda, a densely populated suburbs of Colombo. The attempt was made during the afternoon rush hours by unidentified men in civil attire who arrived in […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information concerning the kidnap and trafficking of the then 16-year-old Sajida Khatun (name changed to protect identity) on 25 March 2011 and the refusal of personnel at Haroa Police Station to render assistance for her recovery. Efforts by Sajida’s father to register a case with […]

According to the report of the Red Cross Organization , the number of persons gone missing under the Rajapakse Government until 2011, is over 15000. Among those 15780 persons who went missing, the majority are males, while 1494 children and 754 females, based on these reports. Jacob Kalanberger, the chief of the International Red Cross […]

Yesterday, July 5, there was an attempt to abduct a web journalist, Santha Wijesooriya, reported the BBC Sinhala Service. The incident is reported to have happened at Nugegoda.  Santha Wijesooriya noticed that he was being followed by a white van and took the precaution of changing his route in order to avoid the van. While […]

96 hours after the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) firing in Kotteguda panchayat of Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh state, the union government and the state government of Chhattisgarh are on defensive mode, finding excuses to justify the police action that killed 20 villagers, of which at least five are children. The firing occurred on 30 […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the passing down of long jail sentences on 11 people who were falsely accused in connection with a bombing in Pegu town during 2010. The innocent persons were brought to a special interrogation centre where they were tortured to confess and charged under […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the lukewarm attitude of the high court of Balochistan that ignored the petition on the abduction of a 75 year-old farmer by persons from the Frontier Corps (FC). The abducted person was an old political worker who left politics in 1975 but, being […]

Dear friends, According to information that the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received, a 26-year old man has disappeared following his arrest by a joint police team dispatched from the Central Investigation Bureau and the District Police Office, Mahotari on 6 May 2012. Mr. Ajit Kumar Lal Karna was allegedly arrested in connection with […]

Yesterday (19th June 2012) Sri Lanka’s United National Party (UNP) published a statement demanding the resignation of the Secretary of Defence. The UNP claimed that the resignation was warranted in light of the recent deaths of two people at the JVP meeting at Katuwana, Hambantota. However, a larger issue that should be considered in this […]

An Open Letter from the Asian Human Rights Commission to Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of the Republic of Indonesia   Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono The President of Indonesia Jl. Veteran No. 16 Jakarta Pusat INDONESIA Tel: +62 21 345 8595 Fax: +62 21 3483 4759   Dear Mr. President, INDONESIA: President’s commitment to tackle […]

แถลงการณ์ร่วมจากมุลนิธิผสานวัฒนธรรมและกลุ่มด้วยใจ จังหวัดสงขลา ส่งต่อโดยคณะกรรมาธิการสิทธิมนุษยชนแห่งเอเชีย (Asian Human Rights Commission: AHRC) 28 พฤษภาคม 2555 วันนี้ ( 28 พฤษภาคม 2555) มูลนิธิยุติธรรมเพื่อสันติภาพ เรียกร้องรัฐบาลไทยให้สัตยาบันต่ออนุสัญญาระหว่างประเทศว่าด้วยการป้องกันบุคคลทุกคนจากการหายสาบสูญโดยถูกบังคับ (International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance) ในรายงานซึ่งบันทึกการบังคับบุคคลสูญหาย 59 รายทั่วประเทศ “มูลนิธิฯพบว่าการบังคับบุคคลให้สูญหายเป็นปรากฏการณ์ของการใช้ความรุนแรงของรัฐไทยเพื่อปราบปรามความเห็นต่าง หรือเพื่อกำจัดผู้ต้องสงสัย ซึ่งเป็นการกระทำนอกเหนือหลักนิติธรรม” อังคณา นีละไพจิตร ประธานมูลนิธิฯฃยุติธรรมเพื่อสันติภาพกล่าว มูลนิธิยุติธรรมเพื่อสันติภาพได้เก็บรวบรวมข้อมูลการบังคับบุคคลให้สูญหาย 40 กรณี ซึ่งส่งผลกระทบต่อประชาชน 59 คน ผู้ที่เป็นเหยื่อ 12 คนมาจากภาคเหนือ ห้าคนมาจากภาคตะวันตก เจ็ดคนมาจากภาคตะวันออกเฉียงเหนือ 33 คนมาจากภาคใต้ มูลนิธิฯพบว่า ส่วนใหญ่แล้วผู้ที่เสี่ยงต่อการเป็นเหยื่อการบังคับบุคคลให้สูญหายมักจะเป็นผู้ชายที่มาจากกลุ่มชาติพันธุ์ส่วนน้อย อย่างเช่น ชาวมาเลย์หรือชุมชนชาติพันธุ์บนพื้นที่สูง […]

The Justice for Peace Foundation (JPF) today called on the Thai Government to ratify and comply with the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances in a report which documents the enforced disappearance of 59 people from throughout Thailand. “JPF has found that enforced disappearances take place within a broader context […]

In a surprising move the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar Chaudhry has shown his inclination towards the imposition of Emergency Regulations in the province of Balochistan. In the cases of disappearances that have actually been brought before the courts the military has shown complete arrogance towards the higher judiciary. They have blatantly refused to disclose […]

India will be evaluated at the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review in Geneva, Switzerland today. The three countries (Troika) involved in the review are Kuwait, Mauritius and Mexico. That these countries have worse records of human rights in comparison to the country they would collectively review suggests how firmly, and perhaps blindly, such processes are […]

The former Attorney General, Mohan Peiris, has been ordered to appear before the Homagama Magistrate’s Court and to reveal what he knows about the whereabouts of Prageeth Eknalilgoda, the journalist who has been missing since January 24, 2010. At the official session of the United Nations Committee against Torture, held last November, the former Attorney […]

A Statement from Baloch Students Organisation Azad forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission The Baloch Student Organisation Azad (BSO-Azad) has documented the cases of alleged extra judicial killings of disappeared persons from January to April 2012, who according to BSO Azad were abducted by the persons from military or state intelligence agencies. Following is […]

The Court case in relation to the disappearance of Journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda was taken up for hearing at the Appeals Court in Colombo on April 24. The hearing opened as the attorney appearing for Mr. Eknaligoda’s wife, Sandhya, explained the proceedings of the case held at the Magistrate Court in Homagama on March 26. Sandhya’s […]

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following statement from the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances. For inquiries, please contact to Ms. Mary Aileen Bacalso from the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances, by email (afad@surfshop.net.ph ). Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- A Statement from Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances forwarded the […]

Enforced disappearance has become a matter of everyday life, as torture is inevitable in the hands of the law enforcement agencies. Both disappearance and torture are the by-products of the ‘rule of coerciveness’ in absence of the ‘rule of law’ in Bangladesh. It is a matter of grave concern that the incidents of disappearance are […]

The harassment of Ms. Sandya Ekneligoda by the government’s supporters in Geneva and by the Attorney General’s department, for joining the UN Human Rights Council Mrs. Sandya Ekneligoda was one of the speakers during a side event held on 19th March 2012 during the 19th sessions of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. The […]