Police negligence

INDONESIA: Police shoot protesting congregants in Papua, killing a child and injuring others

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the brutal attack on members of the Evangelical Church of Indonesia, who were protesting outside a mosque in Karubaga, Tolikara, Papua, by police officers of the Tolikara police resort (Polres Tolikara). One elementary school student died as a result, while 11 adults were […]

ASIA: Weekly Roundup, Episode 88

This week’s Roundup begins in Nepal where the violence that has plagued the small Himalayan nation during the last few weeks has intensified. Clashes between Tharu protesters and police in Kailali District resulted in the death of a 2-year-old child and the lynching and burning of 8 policemen. Next, AHRC TV reports from China. Following […]

INTERVIEW – A Confession of a Lawyer

An interview conducted by ‘MayZine’, The May 18 Memorial Foundation, Gwangju, South Korea, forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission 1. You have been active in human rights and social action issues continuously since you were young, did you have any personal experience since you were childhood that makes you devoted your life and time […]

NEPAL: Protest, revenge, death spreads across Nepal’s Terai

Statement | Nepal | 02-09-2015

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that gives cause for alarm. It appears what happened at Kailali is set to happen in other regions of Terai as well. If lessons are not learned and a pathway for a just and unified Nepal is not opened, the tinderbox could ignite. A keen observer […]

PAKISTAN: Despite all of their contributions minorities remain marginalised

An article from The Nation forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission R Umaima Ahmed In August 2009, following the efforts of Clement Shahbaz Bhatti Federal Minister for Minorities who had earlier founded the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance in 1985, Mr Asif Ali Zardari the then President and Yousaf Raza Gilani the Prime Minster declared […]

SRI LANKA/WORLD: Discussion on democracy and good governance in Sri Lanka

We are presenting a discussion held on the ‘Subha Udesanak” (Good Morning) Programme, on Rupavahini with Mr Basil Fernando, Director of Policy and Programmes, Asian Human Rights Commission, Hong Kong, and popular film director Dharmasiri Bandaranayake, moderated by Mr. Chitral Perera. In this discussion the challenges faced by the new government due to the damage […]

BURMA/MYANMAR: Joint Statement on Disenfranchisement and ‘policy of exclusion’ of the Rohingya

The undersigned Rohingya Organizations in Europe have strongly denounced the undemocratic actions of the Election Commission against Rohingya parliamentary candidates under the government’s ‘policy of exclusion’ of the Rohingya, debarring them from contesting in the upcoming crucial election scheduled on November 8, 2015, on a false and fabricated charge that their parents were not citizens. […]

NEPAL: Situational update from Bhardah, Saptari District

Article | Nepal | 25-08-2015

This report has been prepared on the basis of THRD Alliance Chairperson Dipendra Jha’s field visit to Bhardah, Saptari District. On August 17, a day before the Bhardah police fired shots at the protesters, tensions ran high between the police and the protestors. In the evening, the superintendents of police of the Nepal Police and […]

NEPAL: Viscious police, childish protestors

Statement | Nepal | 20-08-2015

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) condemns the continuing police violence in Nepal, which has escalated in recent weeks, following the proposed demarcation of Nepal into 6 states. Many ethnic and other groups have taken to the streets against the proposed demarcation. Due to constant strikes, people’s lives and livelihoods have been thrown into chaos. […]

NEPAL: Police escalates violence

Statement | Nepal | 18-08-2015

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), along with the Terai Human Rights Defenders (THRD) Alliance, condemns the use of excessive force by the police in the Bhardah area of Saptari District. Today, in Bhardah, the police fired 100 rounds, in addition to tear gas shelling. The shootings have resulted in the death of Rajiv Raut, […]

PAKISTAN: Fact finding report of child abuse scandal

A three-member team of Women In Struggle for Empowerment (WISE) visited the town of Hussain Khan Wala, Kasur district on 11 August 2015 to gather facts and assess the situation on ground regarding the child sex abuse scandal that has recently surfaced. The team, headed by Bushra Khaliq, the Focal person of Anti-Torture Alliance Pakistan, […]

ASIA: Weekly Roundup, Episode 85

This week’s Roundup reports on the encouraging re-opening of a three-year-old crime investigation relating to the death of Sri Lankan rugby player Wasim Thajudeen. While it was initially determined to be an accidental death, allegations of it being a murder committed by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s son have long circulated. The body has now been […]

PAKISTAN: Police murder man and disappear his brother after failing to extort money

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a young man named Mehmood Ahmed Kharani has been killed by the police in a fake encounter. Additionally, policemen have abducted Mehmood’s elder brother, Daud Kharani, on 19 May 2014 for not paying the extortion amount and for not robbing the petrol station […]

INDIA: Government Masterplan: Kick the Students Out of School

Article | India | 12-08-2015

Urikhimbam Jenison The Manipur state government has closed down all educational institutions in the state in an attempt to curb the ongoing movement for the implementation of the Inner Line Permit System (ILPS) in Manipur. It has been a month since this decision was taken. In other words, students have been kept out of their […]

PAKISTAN: Child abuse scandal exposes twisted justice system

The initial shock at the serial sexual abuse committed over a decade in three villages of Punjab Province of Pakistan has unfortunately given way to something even more tragic: an understanding of the true scale of sexual violence committed on children in Pakistan, something that far exceeds what has been unearthed, and something that appears […]

BANGLADESH: RFK Human Rights Center condemns statements by police targeting human rights organistions

A Statement from Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Centre forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights  Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights condemns statements by Bangladeshi police targeting human rights organizations Contact: Daniel Cronin (917) 284-6356 | Email: Cronin@rfkhumanrights.org (August 5, 2015 | Washington, D.C.) Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights condemns the recent […]

ASIA: Weekly Roundup, Episode 84

This week’s Roundup delivers stories from Nepal and Hong Kong. AHRC has recently conducted a trauma workshop in Nepal, titled “Trauma of Devastation – Rebuilding the Society”. The 19 participants comprised members of civil society, community workers, students, and volunteers in Kathmandu and focused how to approach and assist traumatised earthquake victims. AHRC TV speaks […]

SRI LANKA: Exhumation of Wasim Thajudeen’s body may open an important page in criminal investigations

Next Monday, 10 August 2015, the body of the well-known rugby player and Havelock’s Captain, Wasim Thajudeen, will be exhumed on the orders of the Colombo Additional Magistrate. The Magistrate made this order on the basis of an application by the Criminal Investigations Division, which submitted reports stating that newly available evidence suggests that Thajudeen’s […]

BANGLADESH: Repeating lies does not turn ‘falsehood’ into the ‘truth’

The Bangladesh Police has again attempted to justify extrajudicial executions with the excuse of “self-defence”. The latest attempt has been made in a media release (original Bangla and unofficial English translation) sent out from the Police Headquarters and circulated to the country’s media on 2 August 2015. In order to hide its crimes of extrajudicial executions, the […]

NEPAL: Police culture – hit their heads, pelt them stones

Statement | Nepal | 05-08-2015

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) condemns police actions involving hitting peaceful protesters from the Dalit community on their heads with batons. The police have also been involved in pelting stones at Dalit protesters, a representation of the continuation of centuries old violence and discrimination against Dalits. It seems that the police in Nepal is […]