Extrajudicial killings

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan launched its annual report “State of Human Rights in 2014″ Parliament made 10 laws, less than half the previous year’s 22. Nine presidential ordinances were promulgated. Some important laws passed by the parliament were designed to address security concerns, working of the judicial system, and issues related to terrorism, including the controversial […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) deeply regrets to inform you that three people were killed on March 8, 16 and 24, 2015 respectively. One of the victims was an indigenous member fighting for their ancestral domain. The second victim was a farmer claiming resettlement, and the third was a union leader believed […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has gathered detailed information on the cell death of an innocent man at the Kalutara North Prison on 5th April 2015. Mr. Goniyamalimage Suraj Priyantha Aponsu (44), resident of No. 75/11, Uswatte, Moratuwa in Colombo District was a married man and labourer by profession. He was illegally […]

A Press Release from Asia Press Office, Right Livelihood Award Foundation forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) Over a decade having passed since the assassination of Right Livelihood Award Laureate Munir Said Thalib, Indonesia’s most prominent human rights defender, 36 fellow Laureates from the across the world have joined Munir’s wife Suciwati to […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is issuing this special Urgent Appeal following a spate of alarming, serial killings, particularly of women in the Kahawatte Police Division, during the past few years – which constitutes several elements of systematic extrajudicial killings. On 4th April 2015, the Kahawatte Police Station received a complaint of […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the persecution, kidnapping, and premeditated murder of Mr. Indra Pelani (22), an activist of a local peasant group, in Pelayang Tebat Village, Lubuk Mandrasah Sub-District, Tebo Regency, Jambi Province, Indonesia. The AHRC notes that the murder of Indra constitutes premeditated murder, considering the […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information on an extra-judicial killing of an innocent man in Attanagalle in Gampaha District in Sri Lanka on 2nd April 2015. Mr. G A Gayan Pubudu Kumara (32) was illegally arrested, tortured and killed by police officers attached to the Nittambuwa Police Station.  Gayan, is […]

More than 60 convicts have been hung in Pakistan since December 2014. This number is now set to rise, with the military playing its role in executing people. The military junta that has surreptitiously imposed itself upon the pillars of the state, has handed down the death penalty to six convicts over charges of terrorism […]

by Basil Fernando Geekiyanage Premalal De Silva filed a Petition in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka in 1989 alleging that some officers of the Panadura Police arrested him in May 1989, without a warrant, on a false charge of robbery and that he was tortured and subjected to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment while in […]

by Basil Fernando  The discovery of the bodies of four members of the same family in Wennapuwa on 1 January 2015 is one of the gravest crimes reported in recent times. The victims of these horrific murders were a dental surgeon attached to the Lunuwila Hospital, her husband who was a businessman, their 13-year-old son, […]

Dear Friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has detailed information on the killing of Sameera Dananjaya Pathirana (39) in the cell where he was detained in Ja-Ella Police Station. Sameera was illegally arrested on 17 March 2015. Later, police officers admitted him to the Ja-Ella Government Hospital due to his precarious medical condition. Immediately […]

March 24 marks the fifth annual International Day for the Right to Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims. The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed this day in 2010 to honor the memory of victims and recognize the work of countless human rights activists around the world who have devoted […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that human body parts have been found scattered in several parts of Sri Lanka between 14th March and 18th March 2015.  Dematagoda, Nawala, and Diyawanna Oya near Parliamentary Complex are the sites in Colombo where the body parts have been found. Yatiyantota and the […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you that three months after a land rights activist was killed in Negros Occidental, there is no progress in the investigation of his case. He was assisting farm workers to organize their community as they attempted to claim ownership of the land they were cultivating. After […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has gathered detailed information on the custodial death in custody of an innocent man. This took place at the Dummalasuriya Police Station in Kurunegalle District on 4th March 2015. He was, illegally arrested and questioned immediately after his wife filed a complaint with the police regarding a family […]

This week’s episode of Weekly Roundup includes: From Hong Kong, the sentencing of Law Wan-tung, the woman convicted of abusing Erwiana, has become a rallying point of its own as the Judiciary enters the debate on domestic helper regulations. Two cases from Sri Lanka, one showing that the policing system is still in dire need of reforms […]

Mama Qadeer ( File Photo) The Asian Human Rights Commission strongly condemns the illegal and unconstitutional action of the government of Pakistan to stop the office bearers of Voice of Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) including its vice chairperson, Mr. Abdul Qadeer, known as Mama Qadeer, General Secretary, Ms Farzana Majeed and one activist, Ms Faiqa […]