Extrajudicial killings

SOUTH KOREA: The National Intelligence Service systematically disseminated ideas of mass killings, hatred and discrimination over the internet

As the allegations of illegal interference by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) in the presidential election held in December last year drew increasing attention from the public, a search and seizure was carried out by the special investigation team at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office (DPO) on April 30, 2013. Based on the materials […]

PAKISTAN: Sister of the slain women’s rights defender also murdered by the same police constable

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the murder of Ms. Shamim Akhter (50), who worked for the Social Welfare organization in Tando Jam, Sindh province. She was brutally chopped to death by her husband Mr. Sajid Mahmood and Police Constable Usman Lodhi on 4 June 2013 (For further […]

PAKISTAN: Brutal murder of a 13 year old boy by the wife of a feudal lord

Two brothers, Javed, age 9 and Jameel, age 13 were taken against their parents’ will from their village, Kotla Rahm Ali Shah, to go work in Multan as servants in the home of Faheem Abbas Shah, the land-owner for whom the family works. The parents of the boys repeatedly asked for the return of their […]

INDONESIA: Special report on practice of torture in Indonesia released

(Hong Kong/Padang, Indonesia, June 26, 2013) To mark the UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) released an advance version of its special report on practice of torture in Indonesia today. The report titled: “A facade of justice for torture victims in Indonesia”, is the first special […]

BANGLADESH: Torture survivors and relatives of custodial murders share their gruesome experiences in People’s Tribunal

A Joint Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission and Odhikar A survivor of torture, relatives of a survivor and of two victims of death, who were tortured to death in police custody, have shared their gruesome experiences in a People’s Tribunal today, June 26, 2013, in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Bangladeshi human rights group Odhikar, in collaboration with the […]

PAKISTAN: the AHRC condemns the Taliban bomb attack on the acting Chief Justice of Sindh

The acting Chief Justice of Sindh provincial High Court, Justice Maqbool Baqar, was attacked and seriously injured this morning in a bomb blast by the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The convoy of the senior judge was passing through a crowded market place in Karachi, the capital of Sindh province. Nine persons were killed and fifteen were […]

PAKISTAN: Civil Society urges Govt. enact law to end Torture

International Day in support of Torture victims Rights-based organizations, HR defenders vow to synergies efforts to combat Torture LAHORE:(26th June 2013):“The large scale instances of torture in custody is a common practice in Pakistan and there is no law in the country to stop this menace. The Parliament of Pakistan should enact law for criminalization of torture. Govt. […]

PAKISTAN: A Christian lawyer has been threatened with dire consequences for assisting three Christian women, who were stripped naked and paraded on the street

A Christian lawyer has been threatened with dire consequences if he continues to provide legal assistance to three Christian women who were stripped naked and paraded on the street by the henchmen of ruling party.  Mr. Mushtaq Gill, the director of LEAD (Legal Evangelical Association Development) organization, is getting death threats from militants. He is […]

BANGLADESH: Torture-friendly & Corrupt Policing Needs Urgent Reform

An Open Letter by the Asian Human Rights Commission to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Ms. Navy Pillay on the occasion of UN International Day In Support of Victims of Torture Ms. Navanethem Pillay United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights OHCHR-UNOG 8-14 Avenue de la Paix 1211 Geneva 10 SWITZERLAND Fax: +41 […]

CAMBODIA: Rights to Justice and Rehabilitation of Tortured Victims

A Joint Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission, the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC), the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC), Transcultural Psychosocial Organization Cambodia (TPO) and the Dignity-Danish Institute Against Torture on the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture (Click here for Khmer version) As part of their concerted attempt to combat […]

NEPAL: Bringing the eradication of torture back on the political agenda

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the occasion of the International day in support of victims of torture. On the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to express its solidarity with the survivors who are still dealing with the consequences of the torture […]

PAKISTAN: Anti-torture day will be observed in Karachi, Lahore and other parts of the country

The UN International Day in Support of Torture Victims will be observed in Pakistan with a pledge to struggle to eliminate torture from society. Two seminars will be held on this occasion, as well as demonstrations against torture committed by law enforcement agencies, including the armed forces. Human rights activists will urge the government to […]

INDIA: Gorakhpur – the killing fields where only thing worse than death is survival

Article | India | 21-06-2013

In India, death has a myriad ways to prey on hapless children and sniff the life out of them. Often, it has rather trustworthy accomplices: the union and state governments. Take but one way it strikes, killing more than a thousand each year. Since 1978, when it first struck, it has never failed to collect […]

BANGLADESH: RAB’s extrajudicial murder is being covered up while the victim’s family suffers threats

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Odhikar that Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)-11 indiscriminately opened fire in front of a mosque after midday prayers on Friday 1 March 2013. The incident occurred in Mutubi village of Sonaimuri upazila in the Noakhali district. This resulted in the extra-judicial murder of a […]

PAKISTAN: “It was her destiny to die this way…..”

“It was in her fate to die this way”, these shameful words were said by a mother after she threw acid on her own daughter. These are the words used commonly by many families in Pakistani society in order to justify their actions and take shelter in this orthodox society. This incident took place in […]

SRI LANKA: The arrest of Vaas Gunawardena and the descent into rulelessness

The Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Vass Gunawardena is now in remand custody while an inquiry into the conspiracy to murder a businessman for pay is ongoing. Even as he is being interrogated he was reported in the television network, Suwarnawa Hini, in its programme on Mulpituwe (Front Page, which is a commentary on […]

PAKISTAN: Disappearances and extrajudicial killings continue unabated in Balochistan — the civilian governments remain callously indifferent

During the first four months of the year 2013 no restraint was observed on the part of the military in their actions. Abductions by unknown persons, disappearances and extrajudicial killings continue unabated in the war torn zone of Balochistan province. During the months from January to April, according to the Voice of Baloch Missing Persons […]

BURMA/MYANMAR: Father of girl killed by military prosecuted for complaint to human rights commission

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received detailed information about a case brought by the army in Burma against a man who lodged a complaint over the death of his daughter. According to the complaint of BrangShawng to the national human rights commission, his teenage daughter was killed when a soldier shot […]

PAKISTAN: Do women have the right to live in Islamic societies – when the protector becomes the violator

From the early ages in Pakistan women have lived in a society which is anti-women where they are treated as unwanted creatures. Pakistan is a country where violations against women are the highest and conditions become even more alarming as women are discriminated against on the basis of gender even before birth. Women in Pakistan […]

PAKISTAN: Police officers exonerated in the case of death by custodial torture on the plea that there were no witnesses

The police allegedly demanded Rs. 500,000/= for the release of a young man but as the amount was not paid on time he was tortured severely which resulted in his death. A young man of 18 years died in police custody after being tortured in a private torture cell run by the police. However the […]