Impunity

UPDATE (Nepal): Father and son die in custody due to police torture in Panchthar district

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from a partner organization, The Advocacy Forum, (AF) that two civilians, Dal Bahadur and his son Bikram Gyanmi Magar, have died following brutal torture in police custody at Prangbung Police Post of Panchthar District on February 13, 2010 and February 21, 2010 respectively. We […]

UPDATE (Indonesia): Conviction of policemen after case of torture in Depok city

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to inform you that three of the four policemen who arbitrarily arrested and tortured a man on December 2009 (AHRC-UAC-178-2009) have been convicted of police violence and sentenced to three months imprisonment. CASE DETAILS: On December 5, 2009, Mr J.J. Rizal was illegally arrested by police […]

NEPAL: Police torture a man to extract confession

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that police have tortured a 30-year-old man to force him to confess a theft and kept him under illegal detention for nine days. The police also let him be beaten up by villagers after announcing his ‘confession’. He was arrested along with three other […]

NEPAL: Police beat up three detainees in Kathmandu

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that police have severely beaten up three detainees in the Metropolitan Police Range in Hanumandhoka, Kathmandu. Torture is widely use by police forces in Nepal as an easy way to carry an investigation and goes unpunished because of legal loopholes and general unaccountability of the […]

INDIA: A lawyer’s life is at risk after custodial torture

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that a lawyer in Manipur is in a severe condition following torture in custody. So far no proper investigation has been conducted and no complaint has been registered. It is believed that the victim’s injuries may be fatal.  CASE DETAILS:  Mr. Ramananda Taorem is a […]

UPDATE (Indonesia): The prosecution of police for violence appears to be delayed

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned that the prosecution of the four policemen who arbitrarily arrested and tortured a man on December 2009 will not be carried out in a fair and legitimate manner. The AHRC reported on this case previously, during which it wrote to the UN Rapporteur on […]

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 […]

INDIA: Culture of impunity must end in Manipur

(Hong Kong, 12 February, 2010) The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is launching an online signature campaign today marking the 10th year of Sharmila’s (Iron Lady of Manipur) fast to end the culture of impunity in the Indian state of Manipur. Sharmila will celebrate her 38th birthday on 14 March this year in the small […]

NEPAL: General Richards’ visit could trigger a new debate on impunity

Statement | Nepal | 05-02-2010

General Sir David Julian Richards’ official trip to Nepal which includes a visit to the Panchkal army training camp has raised issues concerning the British government’s responsibilities in dealing with a foreign government and an army that is accused of disappearances. The visit will also trigger new discussions in Nepal and outside concerning the government […]

BANGLADESH: Journalist tortured in police vehicle in Rangpur

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is concerned about the health and security of a journalist who was extensively tortured by the Kotowali police in Rangpur, and is now in hiding. He sustained various injuries while being tortured in a police van, and was arbitrarily detained, before being faced with clearly fabricated charges […]

BANGLADESH: A former liberation fighter gets state honours at his funeral, but no investigation into his murder in custody

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that the Khulna police have killed a man in a so-called ‘encounter’. The victim was known as a freedom-fighter for his role in the Bangladesh liberation from Pakistan, but no investigations have been made into his death after he was illegally arrested and detained. Relatives […]

PAKISTAN: Frontier Corp officers shoot a child; police obstruct the filing of the case

Dear friends, A seven-year-old girl was badly injured when members of the Frontiers Corp (FC), a para-military force fired indiscriminately at the car she was traveling in, in Hayatabad, Peshawar. One of her legs has had to be amputated and her second leg is badly fractured. Her uncle was also severely injured in the attack […]

PHILIPPINES: Three journalists who survived the Maguindanao massacre fear for their lives

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is closely monitoring the investigation into the massacre in Maguindanao on November 23, which left 57 people dead, among them two human rights lawyers and 30 local journalists. The AHRC is deeply concerned for the safety of three journalists who escaped. More than a week into the […]

SRI LANKA: An injured man is beaten by police, illegally detained and denied medical treatment

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that an injured man was severely and randomly beaten by a police officer at Negombo Police Station and then denied medical treatment for more than 24 hours, causing possible permanent nerve damage. He now faces fabricated charges for a robbery. No legal or disciplinary action […]

NEPAL: Police abandon the investigation into the gang rape of an 11-year-old Dalit girl

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that police in Nakatajhij, Dhanusa, have been negligent in investigating the double rape and murder of an eleven-year-old Dalit girl. Though there is strong evidence against two non-Dalit youths, the victim’s family reports resistance from police in filing and investigating the case, which has […]

PAKISTAN: Police block investigations into the disappearance of an injured, falsely accused young man in custody

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission has received information that a young man, fatally injured, has gone missing in Sargodha while being transferred between hospitals by police. The man and his father were facing false charges for a highway theft after they tried to help the victims; his resulting death would have shed light […]

BANGLADESH: Police detain and torture a man after fabricating four successive cases against him due to a grudge

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that the Paikgachha police have compiled at least four fake cases against a businessman after he complained about them to higher officials. The victim was detained in prison for 100 days under judicial magistrate Mr. Seyed Habibul Islam and the Officer-in-Charge (OC) at the time, […]

BANGLADESH: Police prevent a journalist from filing torture allegations against paramilitary soldiers

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that a team from the Rapid Action Battalion-10, a paramilitary force involved in maintaining law and order in Bangladesh, tortured a journalist at his house while in their custody, and detained him for more than ten hours. The soldiers made a fabricated video at his […]

BANGLADESH: Police pressure the victim of an acid attack to withdraw her case and marry her attacker

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has discovered that Koyra police are working to support a man who threw acid at a teenage girl, and have pressured her to marry him. The police investigator allegedly used intimidation to try and get the case withdrawn, following bribes from the accused, and the attacker appears […]