Police reform

PAKISTAN: ACTIVISTS AND JOURNALISTS TARGETED, INCREASED CONTROLS ON ONLINE EXPRESSION AND CRACKDOWN ON PROTESTS

A Statement from CIVICUS forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission The CIVICUS Monitor added Pakistan to its watchlist of countries in March 2024, following the repression against the opposition, the censorship of journalists and attacks on peaceful protests around the elections. Other ongoing concerns include the criminalisation, threats and harassment of human rights defenders and the […]

SRI LANKA: Truth Without Hurt

An article from Colombo Telegraph forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission By Jayakumar Thangavelu  A Senior Police Officer’s Perspective Of Investigations Into Political Crimes In addressing this subject, I put down my experience of forty years in the Sri Lankan Police, where I retired as Deputy Inspector General, Legal Range, of which twenty years were […]

INDONESIA: Shrinking of public space on expression, association and peaceful assembly

PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY  Discussion at Yogyakarta State University Critics against the Regime Forcibly Dispersed by the Rector          Discussion and gathering that was planned by the students of Yogyakarta State University (UNY) and other academics, such as lecturers and professors, were forcibly dispersed by the Rector due to the committee of the discussion did not have permission from the rector. Previously, […]

තරිඳු උඩුවරගෙදර අත්අඩංගුවට ගැනීමට අදාළ මහා ප්‍රශ්නය

An article from Sri Lanka Brief forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission මෙම සටහන ඉතා පුළුල් කීර්තියක් ඇති තරුණ මාධ්‍යවේදියෙකු වන තරිඳු උඩුවරගෙදර අත්අඩංගුවට ගැනීමත් සමඟ මතු වූ විශාල ප්‍රශ්න පිළිබඳවය. පසුගිය සිකුරාදා (ජූලි 28) උද්ඝෝෂනයක් වාර්තා කිරීමේ අරමුණින්  සහභාගි වෙමින් සිටි තරිඳු උඩුවරගෙදර ත්‍රිරෝද රථයකින් ඔහුගේ කොණ්ඩයෙන් වියරු ලෙස බලහත්කාරයෙන් ඇදගෙන ගොස්  පොලිස් නිලධාරීන් පිරිසක් […]

SRI LANKA: Best of Laws and the Worst of Law Enforcement – The IMF and the IGP

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Extended Fund Facility has approved a fund to assist Sri Lanka at this time of terrible economic crisis. While there are many things to talk about that issue, we wish at the very beginning to highlight what we think is the most important issue that should be brought to the […]

SRI LANKA: The criteria for the selection of the new Inspector General of Police

The debate on who should be the next Inspector General of Police (IGP) is part of the public debate these days. The focus of this debate is more on who should be the “person” rather than what is the expectation from the new IGP in terms of the challenges faced on the one hand concerning […]

SRI LANKA: Wild Politics and Brutal Policing

By Basil Fernando Police brutality is very much a normal part of the abnormal way of life that exists in Sri Lanka just as attacks by wild elephants have become an usual part of life for people living in remote villages. How that came about has a history of its own and it is the […]

NEPAL: Police is torturing a minor girl

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-002-2022  09 June, 2022 ———————————————————————————- NEPAL: Police is torturing a minor girl ISSUES: Torture, child rights, victims assistance and protection, police reform ———————————————————————————- Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is bringing to your notice an incident where a minor girl is being […]

SRI LANKA: People’s Uprising for System Change

By Basil Fernando April and May 2022 will be remembered as the most important months in the post-independence era. During this short period the much hoped for people’s awakening expressed itself powerfully. People who wielded authority failed to see the writing on the wall although the wall was just next to the Presidential Secretariat and […]

INDONESIA: Police are still at the Konawe Islands Regency and residents are frightened

(Hong Kong, March 25, 2022) The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from local network about police are still at the Konawe Islands Regency. After Gema Kreasi Perdana Company grabbed the land of residents who objected to mine on Tuesday (1/03) and last Thursday, (3/03), the Konawe Islands Regency Government through its Deputy […]

SRI LANKA: Wife of Mathugama police custodial death victim writes to the IGP

A Statement from Right to Life Organization forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission 1. Chairperson, Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, No. 14, R. A. De Mel Mawatha, Colombo 04, 2. Inspector-General of Police, Police Headquarters, Colombo 01 3. Attorney General, Attorney General’s Department, Colombo 12 4. President, National Police Commission, Block No 9, […]

SRI LANKA: The Complaint by a young mother of sexual harassment suffered at the Padukka Police Station

An Open Letter from the Asian Human Rights Commission to Inspector General of Police, Mr. C. D. Wickramaratne Inspector-General of Police, Mr. C. D. Wickramaratne New Secretariat, Colombo 01. SRI LANKA Fax: + 94 11 2 440440 / 327877 Email: igp@police.lk Dear Mr. C. D. Wickramaratne SRI LANKA: The Complaint by a young mother of […]

SRI LANKA: The loss of capacity for criminal justice

A video presentation on the loss of criminal justice capacity in many developing countries and the impact of this on social stability and peace. It is discussed in relation to Sri Lanka, but the basic problem is common to many of the countries in Asia. See the Video link here

INDONESIA: Pretrial detention under the existing Code of Criminal Procedure and the Bill of Criminal Procedure

Under the Soeharto regime, which is known as the New Order Era, Indonesia issued Criminal Procedure Code Number 8 of 1981 (known as KUHAP). This Law was issued to replace the old Criminal Procedure legacy of the Dutch Colonial era, known as the Update Indonesia Regulation (RIB) or also called Het Herziene Indonesisch Reglement. After […]

BANGLADESH: UN Rights Chief needs to act to address excessive use of force leading to extrajudicial killings and torture amidst mass arrests

The Bangladesh Government continues using dis-proportionate lethal force and brutal crackdowns on dissidents. The authorities have been using the COVID-19 pandemic as one of the excuses for denying the rights of liberties and livelihoods to the people. The Bangladesh Government, in its signature style, chose to crackdown on protesters for staging two peaceful protests. They were aimed […]

INDONESIA: Long Journey of the Work of AHRC Empowering and Inspiring

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and its sister organization, the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), have long history of journey working with local human rights networks and organizations in Indonesia. In addition, the AHRC also has long experiences working with association of victims and family of victims of past human rights abuses such as […]

SRI LANKA: Institutional theories about the use of torture

By Basil Fernando There are a number of entrenched beliefs which have become institutional doctrines within the policing system which contribute to the continuing practice of torture. No suspect will ever tell the truth. Therefore, it is better not to waste time asking questions before torturing the person. This is a practice almost invariably followed […]

SRI LANKA: Why do Sri Lankan Police officers torture suspects? Part II

By Basil Fernando “Police officer” refers mostly to persons working for the Sri Lanka Police Service. But in the context of custodial torture, it also includes others who at times are called upon to do Police-related duties such as conduct interrogations, similar to the military and other agencies. Another aspect, relevant to this discourse, generally […]

SRI LANKA: Why do Sri Lankan police officers torture suspects?

By Basil Fernando “Police officer” refers mostly to persons working for the Sri Lanka Police Service. But in the context of custodial torture, it also includes others who at times are called upon to do police-related duties such as conduct interrogations, similar to the military and other agencies. Another aspect, relevant to this discourse, generally speaking, […]

INDONESIA: Interview Regarding Progress of Local TRC in Aceh

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to inform you about an interview with the Commissioner of Aceh Truth and Reconciliation (Aceh TRC), Mr. Muhammad Daud Beureuh. Mr. Daud is also a former intern at the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) in 2012. During the internship, he worked with the Indonesian Desk, he got experiences […]