Extrajudicial killings

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has obtained further details that an activist who was murdered on May 1, 2012 for opposing illegal mining operation in Salcedo, Eastern Samar, knew of the plan that he and two others would be killed. The victim, Francisco Canayong; and his colleagues, Antonio Norte and Carolyn Borja, […]

The killings of the Shiite Muslims continue un-abated in those areas under the control of the military and Para-Military forces where the banned Muslim organizations operate freely and without hindrance. In the latest killings on June 28 at least 13 pilgrims were martyred and several others injured in a bomb blast attack on Zaireen’s bus […]

96 hours after the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) firing in Kotteguda panchayat of Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh state, the union government and the state government of Chhattisgarh are on defensive mode, finding excuses to justify the police action that killed 20 villagers, of which at least five are children. The firing occurred on 30 […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the death of a civilian and the injury of five others after the police shot them in a petty fight in Degeuwo, Papua, on 15 May 2012. The five civilians were having an argument with the owner of a billiard parlour they were […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that on 20 May 2012, M.D. Kalum Priyanath, a disabled labourer, went to a local temple to help a monk run an errand. At 12pm, as he was returning home, Mr. Priyanath was arrested by the police and taken to Welikanda Police Station. According […]

Yesterday (19th June 2012) Sri Lanka’s United National Party (UNP) published a statement demanding the resignation of the Secretary of Defence. The UNP claimed that the resignation was warranted in light of the recent deaths of two people at the JVP meeting at Katuwana, Hambantota. However, a larger issue that should be considered in this […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding an attack conducted by members of Battalion 756 Wimane Sili towards civilians in Kampung Honai Lama west of Wamena on 6 June 2012. The attack was conducted by the military following the stabbing of two of its members by the residents of Kampung […]

An Open Letter from the Asian Human Rights Commission to the President of Myanmar (Burma) and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh U Thein Sein President President’s Office Office No.18 Naypyitaw MYANMAR Honourable Mrs. Sheikh Hasina Prime Minister Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh Office of the Prime Minister Tejgaon, Dhaka BANGLADESH Fax: +880 2 […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission shares the worldwide concern about the communal violence in Arakan (Rakhine) State in Burma over the last fortnight, which has received widespread reportage in the international media, and joins in calls for its earliest cessation, and for the provision of relief to persons affected by the events that have unfolded […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a station house officer killed a police head constable and declared it as a police encounter by injuring himself. The police have refused to file a case on behalf of the victim’s family and instead filed a first information report (FIR) for the […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is informed that District Magistrate Barwani in Madhya Pradesh state has issued a “show cause” notice to human rights defender Ms. Madhuri Krishnaswami on 10 May 2012 asking her why actions should not be initiated against her under the Madhya Pradesh Rajya Suraksha Adhiniyam, 1990 (Madhya Pradesh State Security, […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from MASUM concerning the gruesome murder of 21-year-old Babu Seikh on 22 April 2012 in yet another case of Border Security Forces (BSF) brutality in West Bengal, India. Torture, extrajudicial executions, religious discrimination and a culture of impunity are features of everyday life for Indians […]

India will be evaluated at the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review in Geneva, Switzerland today. The three countries (Troika) involved in the review are Kuwait, Mauritius and Mexico. That these countries have worse records of human rights in comparison to the country they would collectively review suggests how firmly, and perhaps blindly, such processes are […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) was deeply distressed to learn that a government employee, who opposed the construction of a huge dam that threatens to submerge the villages of indigenous communities, has been killed. He was murdered after he had allegedly been subjected to an overt surveillance. CASE DETAILS: (Based on the documentation […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AHRC-STM-104-2012 May 17, 2012 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission INDIA: Institutional peril and murderous politics The assassination of Mr. T. P. Chandrashekharan in Kerala on 4 May is another example of the murderous nature of politics in India. The police investigation has revealed that hired assassins executed the murder. […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Centre for Organisation Research & Education (CORE) concerning torture and the extrajudicial killing of three indigenous Meitei in Manipur by an encounter with the 23rd Assam Rifles (AR) under the command of Major Hanuman near Maphou Dam, Nongdam Village of Ukhrul District […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) deeply regrets to inform you that two journalists have been killed while two others have received threats in separate incidents in April and May. The AHRC is deeply concerned by the ongoing attacks on journalists as a result of their work depriving them of the protection necessary […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned about the killing of an indigenous leader inside his domicile in Bukidnon province. Since 2011, the victim has been receiving threats to his life from members of a paramilitary group due to his anti-mining advocacy in their village. His murder was aggravated by lack […]

The attempt by the Supreme Court of India to draw-up operative principles for the media outlining the contours of Article 19 (1) (a) of the constitution is an exercise that the Court should not venture into. In fact, the Court does not have a constitutional mandate to do so. It is within the realm of […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a key witness in a fundamental rights case filed against the Office-in-Charge of the Wadduwa Police Station was illegally arrested and was later killed while in the custody of that station. The son of the deceased witnessed his father lying on the floor of […]