Extrajudicial killings

ASIA: Weekly Roundup, Episode 81

An Announcement by the Asian Human Rights Commission This week’s Roundup begins in the Indian state of Kerala. The state government has initiated a process of police reforms. This unique initiative involves enabling the police to undertake scientific crime investigation. AHRC TV interviews AHRC Executive Director Bijo Francis to learn more about the outlook for […]

INDONESIA: Police officers illegally arrest, torture and shoot motorcycle theft suspects

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the arbitrary arrest and torture of 19 people allegedly involved in motorcycle robberies. The brutal behaviour of the Serpong police officers resulted in the custodial death of five suspects. According to the police however, their deaths were the result of self defense by […]

INDIA: Only an insane police can use a teen rape survivor as ‘bait’

Article | India | 13-07-2015

by Avinash Pandey The police in Maharashtra sent a 17-year-old rape survivor back to her assaulters as “bait”, not once but twice. The insensitivity of placing a minor in this situation is manifest. The girl must still have been struggling with the trauma. But, the police also went ahead and botched up the ploy by […]

PAKISTAN: Call for probe in custodial death of a young man during illegal detention

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding a man being tortured to death in a private torture cell while in police custody. To hide their crime, the police declared the victim died of heart failure. The victim remained in private custody of the policemen for seven days. When his family filed […]

PAKISTAN: Citizens ‘Half Fried – Full Fried’ by Law Enforcement Agencies

The anecdote of the boiling frog springs to mind. The story goes that if a frog is placed in boiling water, it will jump out. However, if it is placed in water that is heated slowly, it will not perceive danger until it is boiled alive. Citizens of Pakistan suffer from this predicament today. Rather […]

INDONESIA: Time to release all political prisoners in Papua and West Papua provinces and revise the Penal Code

Mr. Setya Novanto Chairperson of the House of Representative  Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR) Gedung Nusantara III DPR RI, Lt I Jalan Jenderal Gatot Subroto, Jakarta, INDONESIA Tel    : +62 21 571 5311 / + 62 21 5715868  Fax    : +62 21 573 1967 / +62 21 5715368 Email    : set_tu_ketua@dpr.go.id Dear Mr. Novanto,  INDONESIA: Time […]

INDONESIA: Environmental activist attacked and stabbed to death by Indonesian navy personnel

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the brutal murder of Mr. Jopi Teguh Lasmana Peranginangin (39), an environmental activist who used to work with the Indigenous People’s Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN). He was kicked, beaten, and stabbed to death by Indonesian navy personnel on 23 May 2015 at […]

PHILIPPINES: Environmental activist killed after several months of ‘monitoring’

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you of yet another killing of a land rights activist who was helping farmers claim their land. His murder happened some two months after his son noticed they were being monitored by men “riding on motorcycle”. The victim’s son saw his father’s car overturn […]

PHILIPPINES: ALRC, KARAPATAN to UNHRC: Spate of killings in PH remains

A Press Release from Karapatan Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) Press Statement June 3, 2015 Reference:     Cristina “Tinay” Palabay, Secretary General, 0917-3162831 Angge Santos, Media Liaison, 0918-9790580 On the eve of the submission of the joint statement of the Asian Legal Resource Center (ALRC) and […]

INDIA: Assam Rifle officers assault and shoot upon villagers; one woman killed

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you of yet another killing of a woman in Manipur by the 20th Battalion of Assam Rifles posted in Pallel. The woman received a bullet injury as officers fired indiscriminately without warning towards a group of villagers, who were approaching to identify a masked man […]

INDONESIA: A 16-year-old boy tortured to death by nine police officers

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the torture to death of Ramadan Suhuddin, a sixteen-year-old boy, in the Municipality Police Office, Samarinda City, East Kalimantan Province, Indonesia. The alleged perpetrators remain unpunished. The police are protecting their fellow officers, who tortured the boy. CASE NARRATIVE: On 16 October 2011, […]

INDIA: Aruna Shanbaug’s death an indictment of justice, not an argument for euthanasia

Article | India | 27-05-2015

by Avinash Pandey* Aruna Shanbaug’s death does not either present a case for legalizing euthanasia or offer a case against it. Her death has nothing to do with that discourse, legitimate as it may be. Aruna Shanbaug’s case is about the rule of law in India. Her death, following 42 years of life in a […]

INDIA: Right Livelihood Award Laureates condemn incitement to murder Swami Agnivesh

A Press Release from Asia Press Office, Right Livelihood Award Foundation, forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) We, the undersigned Laureates of the Right Livelihood Award, and the Right Livelihood Award Foundation, are deeply alarmed by reports published in Punjab Kesari, Dainik Bhaskar, Dainik Jagaran, Navodaya Times, and ABP News Channel on 24th […]

PAKISTAN: HRCP slams massacre in Karachi bus attack

A Press Release from Human Rights Commission of Pakistan forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) Lahore, May 13: The barbaric killing of members of the Ismaili community in a bus attack in Karachi is highly condemnable, but it deserves more than mere words of censure and sympathy from the authorities, the political parties […]

PAKISTAN: Unknown persons assigned to silence intellectuals

Dr. Waheed Rehman – Photo courtesy, thenews.com.pk The menace of “unknown persons” shooting to death intellectuals and activists in Pakistan continues. Pakistan is witnessing an upsurge of attacks on professors and intellectuals; recently an Assistant Professor at the Department of Mass Communication at Karachi University, Dr. Waheed Rehman, well known by his pen name Yasir Rizvi, […]

SRI LANKA: Sri Lanka Deterioration of the legal intellect (6): Pattini Razeek’s body buried within a half built private house

by Basil Fernando  The discovery of the body of Pattini Razeek buried under a half-built private house, in a remote village on Uddamaveli, in Valaichchenai, would have flared up the imagination of any detective. However, despite of the discovery on 28th July 2010, the case itself, remained buried till to date. Mr Pattini Razeek who […]

PAKISTAN: A political activist dies in the custody of Rangers after severe torture including the drilling of his knees

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a political worker died after severe torture in the custody of Pakistan Rangers including the injuries by drill machine at his both knees. He was arrested by Pakistan Rangers on the suspicion that he was involved in facilitating the target killing. He was […]

SRI LANKA: Sri Lanka Deterioration of the legal intellect (5): A conversation with the Prime Minister on periodic massacres of youth since 1971

by Basil Fernando  Last week, 23 April 2014, the television programme ‘Sathyagaraya’ – a Sinhala language programme telecast by the Independent Television Network (ITN) and produced by Upul Shantha Sannasagala – broadcast a long conversation with Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasignhe. Our concern in this article, is about one particular question raised by the producer, Mr […]

PAKISTAN: A human rights defender was murdered allegedly by the agents of military establishment for holding discussion on Balochistan

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) condemns the brutal murder of a peace activist and human rights defender by the so called ‘unknown persons’ after arranging an open discussion on the gross violation of human rights in Balochistan. Ms. Sabeen Mahmud, who was receiving life threats from the persons belonging to spy agencies […]

PAKISTAN: Karachi–a city of extra judicial killings, Supreme Court must take Suo Moto action

The largest commercial city of Pakistan, Karachi, since the past few years has been the hub of extra judicial killings where the law enforcement agencies i.e. the police and Pakistan Rangers enjoyed impunity to shoot and kill in the name of maintenance of law and order. During the year 2014, according to the newspapers reports […]