Torture

The double defeat suffered by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the Presidential Election of 8 January 2015 and in the Parliamentary Elections concluded on August 17, hopefully, marks the end of a long period (1978 to 2015) of onslaught on democracy and the rule of law. All eyes will turn to see how the new […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the brutal torture of Mr. Suhaili by the Police Drug Force (Satnarkoba) of Bangka Police Resort (Polres Bangka), resulting in his death. Suhaili was a narcotics dealer and an alleged source of income for one of the officers; during the sweeping operation he […]

An article written by Kishali Pinto Jayawardene and published in The Sunday Times forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Deaths of innocents in Sri Lanka have had a long and terrible history. No political party can wash its hands of this blood despite the hypocritical outrage often professed in public. Such fire breathing rhetoric […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the case of Mr. Sudirman, a drug dealer, who was burnt alive by Brigadier Sony Saputra, a police officer of the Karimun Police Resort (Polres Karimun), and the Officer’s friends. Sony was hImself involved in the drug business, benefiting from the same. When […]

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 […]

The alleged murderer may have been a radical terrorist that he has professed but either he is not divulging the real intention or is being used as an escape goat by the intelligence agencies. Karachi, “the city of light”, witnessed another dark moment when freedom of speech activist and owner of “The Second Floor” (T2F), […]

This Week’s Roundup begins in Indonesia, where, despite a murderous attack by the police and military against indigenous Papuans in Paniai Regency, the National Commission on Human Rights has yet to conduct an investigation, as it claims have insufficient funds. Since then, the Independent Student Forum has managed to collect IDR 608,000 so that Commission […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the death of Aslin Zalim in police custody in Bau-Bau Regency, South East Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. The Bau Bau District Court has convicted Police Adjunct Senior Commissioner (AKBP) Joko Krisdianto, former Chief of Bau Bau Police Resort (Polres Bau Bau), to six […]

The true character of a society is revealed in how it treats its children – Nelson Mandela The Juvenile Justice (Amendment) Bill 2014 was not deliberated by the Parliamentary Standing Committee, as it strongly opposed the amendments made to it; despite this, the Union Cabinet went ahead and passed the bill in the Lok Sabha […]

On 24 July 2015, the Supreme Court of India, while deciding Criminal Miscellaneous Petition 1606/1997 along with Writ Petition (Criminal 539/1986), in short D.K. Basu (2), has directed the state governments to form State Human Rights Commissions in the states of Delhi, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Nagaland. In the same Order, it has […]

There is a general sense of impunity for the law enforcement agencies, particularly the intelligence and military, the most powerful institution on Pakistan. The victims of the illegal, violent, and cruel actions of law enforcement personnel, and their families, complain that even when clearly identified by witnesses, no investigation is conducted against the perpetrators, let […]