Extrajudicial killings

PAKISTAN: Military courts continue to extend their tentacles

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). […]

NEPAL: Situational update from Bhardah, Saptari District

Article | Nepal | 25-08-2015

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 […]

NEPAL: Shootout at Samakhusi

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 […]

PAKISTAN: Supreme Court directive for police reform-the first step towards overhauling criminal justice system

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 […]

ASIA: Weekly Roundup, Episode 86

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, […]

NEPAL: Viscious police, childish protestors

Statement | Nepal | 20-08-2015

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. […]

NEPAL: Police escalates violence

Statement | Nepal | 18-08-2015

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, […]

ASIA: Weekly Roundup, Episode 85

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 […]

PAKISTAN: Police murder man and disappear his brother after failing to extort money

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 […]

INDONESIA: Narcotics dealer tortured to death by Police Drug Force

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 […]

SRI LANKA: Wasim Thajudeen and a Bloodstained State

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 […]

BANGLADESH: RFK Human Rights Center condemns statements by police targeting human rights organistions

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 […]

SRI LANKA: Exhumation of Wasim Thajudeen’s body may open an important page in criminal investigations

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 […]

BANGLADESH: Repeating lies does not turn ‘falsehood’ into the ‘truth’

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 […]

INDONESIA: Drug dealer burnt alive for failing to provide drugs and money to police

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 […]

INDONESIA: Bau-Bau District Court convicts officer with light punishment

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 […]

PAKISTAN: Raja Dahir, abducted by Rangers in June, found dead, tortured

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 […]

INDONESIA: Police attack and shoot at 10 Papuan youth, killing one and injuring others

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the shooting and brutal attack on 10 indigenous Papuan youth conducted by police officers of Tigi Police Sector (Polsek Tigi), Deiyai Regency, Papua Province. The attack resulted in the death of Yoteni Agapa (19), while Melianus Mote (21) was seriously injured. Furthermore, eight […]

INDONESIA: The police and military attack and kill 5 teenagers, injure 17 others, in Papua

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding allegations of gross violation of human rights, which has resulted in five students being killed and 17 others getting injured in Paniai Regency, Papua Province, Indonesia. Up until now, the law enforcement agency and the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) have […]

ASIA: Mob justice—a symptom of degenerating rule of law

Article | Asia | 20-07-2015

Javeria Younes The mob justice meted out to 13-year-old Samiul Alam Rajon, who was beaten to death in Bangladesh by an angry mob resolute on teaching the youngster a lesson for stealing a bicycle, is a classic case of mob madness witnessed on our streets every day. Throughout Asia, deteriorating rule of law and ineffective […]