Torture

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that after soldiers in Kachin State, northern Burma detained two men over alleged involvement in an anti-government armed group, they were tortured and interrogated illegally. Furthermore, although the men, named Lahpai Gan and Baran Yaun, were turned over to police custody they were then […]

During the last two weeks, a video showing a policeman beating a young woman on a public road in Ratnapura, Sri Lanka, has generated heated discussion in the media. Reactions shown in the media and in social media such as facebook show public contempt for the behavior and conduct of the police. What is near […]

‘Lawyers Collective’ condemns the killing of a suspect in police custody at Cinnamon Gardens while being taken handcuffed and the brutal attack on a girl at the Ratnapura Bus stand by a police officer in the view of the public.  These two incidents are a continuation of the trend in recent times of unarmed persons […]

The fifth Congress of Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD), held in Manila from 22-25 September and attended by participants from ten countries – Bangladesh, Indonesia, Jammu and Kashmir in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Thailand and Timor-Leste renewed its commitment to fight against impunity and build a world without disappearances. AFAD […]

In this week’s episode of the Weekly Roundup, AHRC TV is pleased to announce that Basil Fernando, the Asian Human Rights Commission’s Director for Policy and Programme Development, will be awarded the Right Livelihood Award, which is also known as the “Alternative Nobel Prize”, “for his outstanding work to support and document the implementation of […]

TEXTS ADOPTED Provisional edition P8_TA-PROV(2014)0024 Human rights violations in Bangladesh PE536.999 European Parliament resolution of 18 September 2014 on human rights violations in Bangladesh (2014/2834(RSP)) The European Parliament, –    having regard to its previous resolutions on Bangladesh, –    having regard to the EC-Bangladesh Cooperation Agreement of 2001, –    having regard to Articles 33 and 35 […]

A group of researchers associated with the Sydney University in Australia claim that they have found a more effective way than what has been tried so far, to prevent torture. The more effective way, as claimed, is to engage with the torturers themselves; which means to engage with officers of the security establishments. Quite an […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that the judicial harassment of Pornpen Khongkachonkiet and Somchai Homlaor, long-standing and prominent human rights defenders and director and chairperson, respectively, of the Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF) in Thailand, is ongoing. They have been accused of defaming the army and face potential legal prosecution for […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission has received shocking reports of journalists having to face the worst ordeals possible, during the course of the year 2014. Four journalists and five of their supporting staff have been killed by “un-known” persons and more than 38 journalists were attacked and injured by the police and mostly by those […]

The worst ever industrial disaster in Pakistan’s history occurred on 11th September 2012 when a massive fire in the three-storied garment factory called Ali Enterprises situated in the Baldia Town area of Karachi caused the deaths of 259 workers and serious injuries to 55 more. Two years have passed since that tragic accident sent shock waves […]

Dear friends, The Terai Human Rights Defenders (THRD) Alliance in Nepal has informed the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) that Mr. Hariram Bahun, a 38-year-old bicycle mechanic and resident of ward 7, Ganapur Village Development Committee (VDC), Banke District, was arrested for drug dealing by the police on 2 September 2014. He was tortured by […]

In this week’s Weekly Roundup, AHRC TV will report on the widespread problem of physical violence – amounting to torture – being committed by police and military personnel against others in uniform. The following stories will be featured: In South Korea: conscripts are subjected to torture initiation which can be fatal In Sri Lanka: Female […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that security agencies have started targeting the family members of Baloch refugees who have fled to western countries. Reports state that family members including children of these refugees have been arrested by plain clothed persons and have been abducted in unmarked vehicles. Their whereabouts […]

Out of several recent incidents concerning conscripted men, two have sparked public outrage and triggered a call for an overhaul of the conscription system in South Korea. The first case concerns Mr. Lim, a young conscript, who turned his gun on his fellow conscripts and opened fire on 21 June 2014. As a result, five […]

Courtesy to Daily Dawn The government, once again has refused to follow the orders of the Lahore High Court which directed police to register a First Information Report (FIR) which names amongst others, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the Chief Minister of Punjab Mr. Shahbaz Sharif and 19 others including federal and provincial ministers and government […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that in July 2013 the police from Myaung Mya Township Police Station tortured a then 13-year-old boy accused of murder. They detained him for one month, tortured him, and sent him to court with documents that incorrectly stated his age. He was granted bail […]

(Note: this article was first published in the August 10, 2014 issue of the Sunday Examiner) What Fernando Obedencio and Haron Abubakar have in common is that they were both arrested in 2005 in General Santos City. Both were 25-years-old, accused on the grounds of planted evidence and both were tortured by the police to […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from MASUM – a human rights organisation based in West Bengal, India – concerning the torture of a man that dared to complain against a Border Security Force (BSF) officer. The man complained that the BSF officer had been found peeping into a room […]

The following article appeared as the editorial of the latest issue of ‘Torture: Asian and Global Perspectives’, a bi-monthly magazine published by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), based in Hong Kong and the Danish Institute Against Torture (DIGNITY) based in Denmark. by Nilantha Ilangamuwa Just a few short weeks after this year’s the commemoration […]

“Interestingly, among the Hong Kong political elites who agreed that there was validity to the concept of distinct Asian values, there was significant disagreement as to what such values actually meant. The affirmative sample broke into three groups,” argued Bob Beatty in his latest paper exclusively published in the latest issue of Torture: Asian and […]