Extrajudicial killings

Eighty eight journalists have been killed in Pakistan during last decade out of which 36 were shot dead in target killing. In 2012, ten journalists including one TV channel driver were killed in three provinces, Balochistan, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of the country as impunity against Pakistani media rises to unacceptable levels. According to the […]

Daily life in Pakistan is today marred by terrorist attacks that range from bombings to shootings and execution-style killings. All these are taking place in an environment where the law enforcement agencies are helpless to intervene. Little in the way of investigation takes place and even when the identities of the perpetrators are known no […]

In her presentation to the United Nations Human Rights Council at the Universal Periodic Review the Foreign Minister, Ms. Hina Rabbani Khar painted a rosy picture of the progress that Pakistan has made over the past four years. However, it was what Ms. Hina Rabbani Khar did not talk about that raised the ire of […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission has written to the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions regarding the incident at the Welikada Prison in Sri Lanka on November 9, 2012. The full text of the letter may be seen below: Mr. Christof Heyns Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions C/o OHCHR Palais […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is pleased to inform you that an indigenous villager, one of the claimants of a disputed ancestral land whom the police had earlier suspected of being a rebel who was wounded in a fight, has already been cleared. The police investigation which they conducted after an appeal […]

Basil Fernando Humankind has at least a few millenniums of experience in keeping prisons. It is part of the unfortunate predicament of humanity that there is this need to have prisons. However, over these long years, through bitter experiences, humanity has learned to lessen the suffering involved for the inmates of prisons and to make […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Navsarjan Trust about the extrajudicial killing of three Dalit youth by the Gujarat police in repeated firing over protesting Dalits. The first incident took place on 21 September when police opened fire on a crowd after failing to control a clash between Dalits […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) deeply regrets to inform you that a 14 year-old-boy, one of the affected villagers in a demolition, has been killed after he was hit by a stray bullet in Tarlac City during a forced eviction. The police demolition team fired at the protesting villagers using live ammunition […]

“History had a slow pulse; man counted in years, history in generations” — Arthur Koestler, Darkness at Noon It was another extrajudicial killing. And, it happened two days ago. This time the victim was cut into pieces and the pieces were strewn in a suburb of Colombo. Eyewitness to the incident told media that some people […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) deeply regrets to inform you that another indigenous leader has been killed in Misamis Oriental. The victim and his group had been opposing the expansion of a big US-based company operating a palm oil plantation. The company intends to grab the land that the indigenous villagers are […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is disturbed with the recent rejection of the Indonesian government to the findings by the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) claiming the 1965 massacre constituted a gross human rights violation. As reported by national media, the Coordinator Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto insisted that the […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to bring to the attention of the Sri Lankan public that we have learned about the massive frauds relating to tampering with land titles and also other frauds by the misusing the criminal justice process by way of fabrication of charges. The incidents narrated hereunder would explain the […]

Dear friends, Mr. Koggala Marakkalage Thushara Samanthilake (37) of No.66, Cheythiya Pura, Ranna/ East, Ranna in Hambantota District was a Security Officer attached to a private security firm and stationed at the Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery at Colombo. On 16 August 2012, at about 5.00pm, Thusharawent to Hungama Town to buy some vegetables and as he […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) deeply regrets to inform you that two people were killed in separate incidents on September 3 and 4, 2012. One of the victims was the son of a leader of an indigenous tribe opposing mining and the other was a transport leader advocating for the interest of […]

Men in uniforms of the armed forces went on a rampage of sectarian violence attacking and killing Shia Muslims who make up the second largest Muslim sect after the Sunnis. According to the reports from Gilgit-Baltistan, the northern district of Kohistan, where sizeable numbers of Shia Muslims reside, on three different occasions this year, members […]

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following statement from the Human Rights Lawyers Association (HRLA) and other human rights organizations in Thailand on the death penalty imposed on three police officers for the killing of Kiettisak Thitboonkrong. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- On 30 July 2012, in the Black Case […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission greets with cautious optimism the landmark ruling of the Criminal Court in Bangkok to convict five police officers for the murder of a teenager during the “war on drugs” in 2004, and hopes that it will serve as a precedent of sorts for other cases of police and state officials […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned by the inaction of the police to protect indigenous villagers facing threats. They complained against members of the Intelligence Network in their village; however, three months on, no protection has been provided and no investigation has been conducted. The threats against the villagers began […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from MASUM concerning the murder of 21-year-old Jiarul Sardar on 10 June 2012 in yet another case of Border Security Forces (BSF) brutality in West Bengal, India. Torture, extrajudicial killings and acts of impunity are features of everyday life for Indian people living near […]

An Open Letter from the Asian Human Rights Commission to Sr. Supt. Generoso Cerbo Jr., spokesperson of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Sr. Supt. Generoso Cerbo Jr. Spokesperson Philippine National Police (PNP) Camp General Rafael Crame Quezon City PHILIPPINES Tel: +63 2 726 4361/ 4366/ 8763 Fax: + +63 2724 8763 Dear Sr. Supt. Cerbo: […]