Extrajudicial killings

INDIA: A shopkeeper is illegally arrested and executed by Manipur security forces

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about another ‘encounter’ killing by Manipur security personnel that bears all the signs of being an extrajudicial execution. The man was abducted, unarmed, in front of his family, his house was searched and his were valuables stolen, although the incident report claimed that a […]

INDIA: Another civilian is abducted and murdered in Manipur; police claim ‘encounter’

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information concerning yet another case of abduction and extrajudicial execution in Manipur. After unidentified persons were seen abducting a man in April, the local police reported having killed him in an armed encounter later that evening. Given the widespread pattern of extrajudicial executions in the […]

SRI LANKA: The murder of a witness by police must be independently investigated

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has gathered detailed information on the escalating harassment of criminal witness Saman Thialakasir by police before his murder in February. He was found dead the morning after he was picked up by officers. Saman had reported a case of illegal logging in his neighbourhood with suspected connections […]

PAKISTAN: Three more Ahmadis murdered in target killings. No arrests have yet been made

Three more Ahmadis, including two brothers, were killed for their religious belief in target killings by unknown persons in Faisalabad city, a province of Punjab. This year so far, five Ahmadis have been killed whereas in the year 2009 eleven Ahmadis were murdered in target killings. Police have yet to investigate the incidents of killings. […]

PHILIPPINES: Who were the massacred journalists? – Part 4

Daddy’s Little Girl By Mayang Reblando More than anything else, he was my Daddy. So much goes into that simple statement. My Daddy, Alejandro “Bong” Reblando was my hero, my strength, the best of all my bestfriends. He was my mentor and my protector. He was the angel sent from above. He was indeed the […]

INDIA: An 18-year-old boy is abducted and murdered in Manipur

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information concerning the case of a teenage boy who was abducted by three unknown men and killed later. His corpse was identified in a mortuary by his neighbours when they went to identify the body of another person, killed in identical circumstances. Reports strongly suggest […]

NEPAL: Army claims that it killed two Dalit women and a child in self-defense in Bardyia National Park

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to share its concern regarding the killing of two women and a 12-year-old child by army personnel under unclear circumstances in Bardyia National Park in Nepal. Although the army claims that the victims were killed during an encounter, there is evidence to suggest otherwise, leading to […]

INDIA: Yet another murder of a young man by the Manipur State Police

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information concerning the case of Orsonjit, aged 19 years, who was illegally arrested and reportedly murdered by the Manipur Police Commando Unit. The police officers claimed that he was killed in an encounter and recovered a .32 caliber revolver with two live rounds and one […]

INDIA: Manipur police kill another in extra-judicial circumstances

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information concerning the illegal arrest and alleged murder of another person by state police. It is widely suspected that his killing was part of a combined operation between the Manipur State Police Commando Unit and officers of the 21 Assam Rifles (AR).  CASE DETAILS:  On […]

PHILIPPINES: Protect Witnesses to Maguindanao Massacre Two Relatives of Witnesses Killed; Many Suspects Remain at Large

(New York, March 8, 2010) – Philippine authorities should act swiftly to protect eyewitnesses to the November 2009 massacre of at least 57 people in Maguindanao province on Mindanao, and to protect their families as well, Human Rights Watch said today.   Concerns for the safety of witnesses are highlighted by the killings of two […]

PHILIPPINES: Who were the massacred journalists? – Part 3

Marife ‘Neneng’ Montano: a mentor and a mother By Pepe Panglao It was ten years ago when I first met Marife Montano or ‘Neneng’ as she was known to her friends. Neneng was one of the 32 journalists killed in the Maguindanao massacre. In paying tribute to her, I won’t repeat the countless and numerous […]

BANGLADESH: Man arbitrarily detained and tortured to death by paramilitary force and police in Dhaka

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested a man named Md. Mohiuddin Arif from his house. Arif was arbitrarily detained for 54 hours in the custody of the RAB and tortured there as well as in his own house during a search conducted by […]

PHILIPPINES: Prosecutors can’t depend on “positive identification” in Maguindanao massacre case

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following article from JURIST — Legal News and Research of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- An article from JURIST, University of Pittsburgh forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Danilo Reyes [Staff member,Asian Human Rights Commission]: “The […]

NEPAL: Police kill a 25-year-old man in an alleged encounter in Banke

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a young member of an armed group was killed by Nepali police officers in an alleged encounter last December in Banka district’s Mataiya Village Development Committee. The lack of evidence relating to the encounter has led the AHRC to suspect that this is […]

UPDATE (Thailand): Witnesses to the Kalasin killings will testify in court for the first time on March 2

Dear friends, On 2 March 2010 the main hearing will begin in the case of Kiettisak Thitboonkrong, who was one of the 28 victims of the Kalasin Killings. It will take place at the Criminal Court in Bangkok and is the first case in which the DSI has charged police for the murders that characterised […]

UPDATE (Nepal): International campaign demanding prosecution of Maina Sunuwar’s murderers

Dear friends,  Amnesty International, supported by other civil society organisations such as the Advocacy Forum Nepal, is beginning an international campaign today to call for justice in the infamous case of murdered 15-year-old Maina Sunuwar. Four military officers are accused of having illegally arrested, raped and tortured Maina to death on 17 February 2004. Despite the […]

UPDATE (Nepal): Maina Sunuwar’s murderers have still not been prosecuted, six years on

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned about the impunity of those involved in the murder of Maina Sunuwar. Four military officers are accused of having illegally arrested, raped and tortured this 15-year-old girl to death on 17 February 2004. Despite the enormous national and international attention this case has received […]

PAKISTAN: A young Christian man has been tortured to death by Karachi police and jail officials for not paying bribes in time for Eid

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the torture and extrajudicial murder of a young man in Pakistan. The man was reportedly beaten and abused in a number of police stations and Karachi central prison for not paying bribes in the lead up to Eid, and was beaten unconscious in […]

PHILIPPINES: Q&A: Journalist who escaped ‘Maguindanao massacre’ tells stories of survival

(Hong Kong, January 4, 2009) The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is publishing below the full text of the interview made by a radio host with one of the three journalists who had escaped from the November 23, 2009 Maguindanao massacre. In December 2009, the AHRC has invited the person (name withheld for security reasons) […]

PHILIPPINES: Who were the massacred journalists? – Part 2

Joker’ pioneers the news format in local radio Before writing for community newspapers and national dailies in the recent years, forty-six-year-old Ian ‘Joker’ Subang was a veteran broadcast journalist, having worked in the local broadcast industry for decades. Starting as a reporter for dxCP, a Catholic-owned local radio station in General Santos City in the […]