Torture

Cambodia acceded to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment in October 1992. In September 2005, the Cambodian government signed the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, but has yet to ratify it. However, neither the Convention nor the Protocol have become effectively operational; the government has not […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 23, 2006 AS-152-2006 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the International Day in Support of Torture Victims and Survivors, June 26, 2006 THAILAND: Failure to ratify UN Convention against Torture damaging Thailand’s international reputation as well as the lives of victims Remember Ekkawat Srimanata?  Ekkawat was arrested on […]

The International Day in Support of Victims of Torture is a sad reminder of Sri Lanka’s complete failure to eliminate torture.  This is even sadder because it was the past practices of horrendous torture which created the cyanide carrying militants and prevented the possibility of a negotiated settlement for the country’s minority problems.  In the […]

On 7 June 2006 a Committee in the Philippine Congress approved a consolidated bill seeking to outlaw torture. By approving this long overdue bill, the Committee acknowledged the need to enact an enabling law on torture. While this development is warmly welcomed the issue of how to consistently push for it is a matter of […]

On the occasion of the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) welcomes the new opportunities for human rights as a whole, and torture victims in particular, that have arisen out of the historic peoples’ movement in Nepal in April 2006. As the result of widespread […]

Police torture of criminal suspects is commonly accepted in Indonesia. This is the case whether they are suspects of insurgency and violence, or suspects of petty theft. In fact, the police are even known to harass and assault innocent civilians. At the beginning of the year, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) reported that two […]

Of the 511 Sections in the Indian Penal Code, there is not a single provision to punish a law enforcing officer for engaging in custodial torture.  One hundred and forty six years since the original version of the Penal Code was drafted and fifty nine years since independence, the Penal Code has undergone several changes, […]

On May 9th, 2006, Bangladesh was elected to the new United Nations Human Rights Council, which is currently holding its first session in Geneva. As part of the voluntary pledge the government made prior to the election, it affirmed its “deep commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights of all of its citizens.” […]

As it observes the annual U.N. International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on June 26, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) notes that fighting the “war on terror” in recent years is now threatening the much longer “war on torture.” For years, the AHRC and others around the world have called upon governments […]

Dear friends, It has come to the attention of the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) that of the 10 farmers arrested and tortured in October 2005 by police officers in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, eight have been sentenced to nine years imprisonment, on the charges of maltreatment and killing of 17 police officers, three of whom […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the arbitrary arrest, detention and torture of a boy by police personnel from the Thelikada Police Station. Aged only 17, the victim was detained by the police on 12 May 2006 and arrested for suspicion of theft. While in detention the victim was […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received the following information regarding the brutal assault upon a mother and her son while they were traveling by  motorbike. On 15 May 2006, at about 7pm, Mr. Shukkur and his mother Suhara were going to Suhara’s mother’s house on a motorbike. When they reached a […]

The numerous appointments to key national commissions by the executive president, contravening constitutional requirements, are a very clear indication of Sri Lanka’s drift from a law-based society to one in which the law plays a significantly reduced role.  While criticism against presidential actions has pointed to matters including the fact that no person is above […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has come to learn of an appalling case of arbitrary use of police authority against a man whom they accused to have interfered and disturbed police duties. On 7 April 2006, at 7.20am Indika Kulasekara was driving his bus and was collecting passengers as usual. The bus […]

Dear friends, On 7 April 2006, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) reported how Kithsiri Dharawardena was brutally assaulted by about 100 inmates and trainees of the police training college in Ketapola (please see UA-121-2006). As a result of the brutal torture, Mr. Dhanawardena had to be hospitalised for more than one week at the Karapitiya […]

[RE: UA-75-2005: SRI LANKA: A woman’s baby is stillborn due to police torture; UP-75-2005: SRI LANKA: Police torturers who caused a woman’s loss of her unborn child must be brought to justice] ——————————————- UP-109-2006: SRI LANKA: Continued harassment of torture victims by the Embilipitiya police SRI LANKA: Torture; threat and intimidation; police misconduct; ineffective inquiry […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has come to learn of an appalling case of police brutality and torture of a man whom they accused of having stolen goods. When the man repeated to deny having done so, they tied his arms and legs together, hung him from a pole and beat him […]

AHRC-OL-013-2006 May 15, 2006      Open letter to the Attorney General The Hon. Mr. K. C. Kamalasabesan Attorney General Attorney General’s Department Colombo 12 Sri Lanka Fax: +94 11 2 436 421 Dear Mr. Kamalasabesan, Re: The case of Lalith Rajapakse — HC259/2003 (this High Court case is related to SCFR267/2002) This case came up […]

Dear friends, On 4 May 2006, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) informed our network about 18-year-old Samantha Perera, who was illegally arrested by the Bandaragama police, detained for four days and inhumanely and brutally tortured during this time (please see UA-147-2006). He and his family believed that this was a result of instigation and bribery […]

[RE: UP-096-2006: BANGLADESH: Court orders supplementary investigation following disputed Judicial Probe Commission report; UP-083-2006: BANGLADESH: Police defy High Court order by continuing to make threats; UP-062-2006: BANGLADESH: Harassment and threats continue towards victim despite a High Court ruling ordering the alleged perpetrators to stop; UP-058-2006: BANGLADESH: Police seriously intimidate and threaten victim, her husband and […]