Extrajudicial killings

The weekly Times column, “Focus on Rights” by Kishali Pinto Jayawardena, in the Sunday Times, Sri Lanka, on 30 August 2015, forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Kishali Pinto Jayawardena With the September 2015 report of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) referencing war-time accountability of Sri Lanka’s political and military command looming […]

The undersigned Rohingya Organizations in Europe have strongly denounced the undemocratic actions of the Election Commission against Rohingya parliamentary candidates under the government’s ‘policy of exclusion’ of the Rohingya, debarring them from contesting in the upcoming crucial election scheduled on November 8, 2015, on a false and fabricated charge that their parents were not citizens. […]

This week’s Roundup features a panel discussion in two parts to mark the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, which falls on Sunday, August 30. Participating in the panel discussion are M.D. Ashrafuzaman from Bangladesh, Baseer Naweed from Pakistan and AHRC’s Executive Director Bijo Francis from India. AHRC’s editor Karan Singh has moderated […]

The military courts have surreptitiously been given power to try suspects languishing in interment centers located in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). These military courts will now decide the fate of militants declared ‘black’, a term that has not been clearly defined in the Pakistan Army Act, 1952 (PAA). […]

This report has been prepared on the basis of THRD Alliance Chairperson Dipendra Jha’s field visit to Bhardah, Saptari District. On August 17, a day before the Bhardah police fired shots at the protesters, tensions ran high between the police and the protestors. In the evening, the superintendents of police of the Nepal Police and […]

An editorial from the Kathmandu Post forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission The killing of the gangster Kumar Shrestha ‘Ghainte’ by the police has aroused a great many passions. Nepali Congress (NC) leaders, to whom Ghainte was close, reject the official version of the event as provided by the police, according to which police […]

Could it be that the relentless endeavour of civil society, NGOs, and human rights defenders has finally begun to bear fruit? On, 20 August 2015, the Supreme Court has directed the federal and provincial governments to submit recommendations on police reforms. Reports in The News International and The Frontier Post on August 20, have quoted Supreme Court Chief Justice […]

This week’s Roundup begins in Sri Lanka where the most peaceful elections since independence have thwarted former President Rajapaksa’s attempts to return to power. Hopes are now strong for a fundamental shift in the country towards a stable and solid democracy and rule of law. AHRC TV speaks with AHRC’s Basil Fernando, Janasansadaya’s Chitral Perera, […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) condemns the continuing police violence in Nepal, which has escalated in recent weeks, following the proposed demarcation of Nepal into 6 states. Many ethnic and other groups have taken to the streets against the proposed demarcation. Due to constant strikes, people’s lives and livelihoods have been thrown into chaos. […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), along with the Terai Human Rights Defenders (THRD) Alliance, condemns the use of excessive force by the police in the Bhardah area of Saptari District. Today, in Bhardah, the police fired 100 rounds, in addition to tear gas shelling. The shootings have resulted in the death of Rajiv Raut, […]

This week’s Roundup reports on the encouraging re-opening of a three-year-old crime investigation relating to the death of Sri Lankan rugby player Wasim Thajudeen. While it was initially determined to be an accidental death, allegations of it being a murder committed by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s son have long circulated. The body has now been […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a young man named Mehmood Ahmed Kharani has been killed by the police in a fake encounter. Additionally, policemen have abducted Mehmood’s elder brother, Daud Kharani, on 19 May 2014 for not paying the extortion amount and for not robbing the petrol station […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the brutal torture of Mr. Suhaili by the Police Drug Force (Satnarkoba) of Bangka Police Resort (Polres Bangka), resulting in his death. Suhaili was a narcotics dealer and an alleged source of income for one of the officers; during the sweeping operation he […]

An article written by Kishali Pinto Jayawardene and published in The Sunday Times forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Deaths of innocents in Sri Lanka have had a long and terrible history. No political party can wash its hands of this blood despite the hypocritical outrage often professed in public. Such fire breathing rhetoric […]

A Statement from Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Centre forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights  Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights condemns statements by Bangladeshi police targeting human rights organizations Contact: Daniel Cronin (917) 284-6356 | Email: Cronin@rfkhumanrights.org (August 5, 2015 | Washington, D.C.) Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights condemns the recent […]

Next Monday, 10 August 2015, the body of the well-known rugby player and Havelock’s Captain, Wasim Thajudeen, will be exhumed on the orders of the Colombo Additional Magistrate. The Magistrate made this order on the basis of an application by the Criminal Investigations Division, which submitted reports stating that newly available evidence suggests that Thajudeen’s […]

The Bangladesh Police has again attempted to justify extrajudicial executions with the excuse of “self-defence”. The latest attempt has been made in a media release (original Bangla and unofficial English translation) sent out from the Police Headquarters and circulated to the country’s media on 2 August 2015. In order to hide its crimes of extrajudicial executions, the […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the case of Mr. Sudirman, a drug dealer, who was burnt alive by Brigadier Sony Saputra, a police officer of the Karimun Police Resort (Polres Karimun), and the Officer’s friends. Sony was hImself involved in the drug business, benefiting from the same. When […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the death of Aslin Zalim in police custody in Bau-Bau Regency, South East Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. The Bau Bau District Court has convicted Police Adjunct Senior Commissioner (AKBP) Joko Krisdianto, former Chief of Bau Bau Police Resort (Polres Bau Bau), to six […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the extrajudicial killing of a disappeared person, Mr. Raja Dahir, who was abducted by Pakistan Ranger personnel on June 4. After they raided his house and abducted him his whereabouts had been unknown. Raja Dahir’s corpse was found 20 days ago in […]