Torture

NEPAL: Policeman that used illegal detention to extort bribes now seeks revenge

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. Sipahi Kurmi, a 42-year-old resident of Bogadi Ward no. 4, Rupandehi District, had been illegally detained at the Area Police Station Majhgawa Rupandehi and was released only when he paid a bribe of NRs. 8,000 to Police Inspector Birendra Kumar Yadav. However […]

BURMA/MYANMAR: Police threaten relatives of deceased torture victim

Members of the Insein Criminal Investigation Department (CID) have been threatening relatives of Ko Zin Aung, a local rickshaw driver tortured to death in July this year (AHRC-UAC-110-2014). Ko Moss and Ma Aye Aye Nwe, the brother-in-law and the cousin of the victim respectively, were called, 11th August 2014 to Myo Thit Quarter Administrative Office, […]

PHILIPPINES: ‘Invincible’ Palparan under arrest

At dawn today, Jovito Palparan Jr., a retired military general, wanted on charges of kidnapping and serious illegal detention, was arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), in Sta. Mesa, Metro Manila. Palparan is the principal accused in the abduction, illegal detention, torture and rape of Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno. Jovito Palparan Jr. […]

NEPAL: Dalit policeman gets torture, not justice

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Terai Human Rights Defenders Alliance (THRD Alliance) regarding an incident of police torture on 31 July 2014. Following, a verbal spat, which turned violent, Mahabir Bishwokarma was detained and tortured by the police till he fell unconscious at the Gadda Chauki Police […]

BURMA/MYANMAR: Police illegally arrest, detain, & torture rickshaw driver to death

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that police in Bago No.1 Police Station arrested a 37-year-old man on 4 July 2014, without an arrest warrant or court order, over the theft of bottles of motorcycle fuel. While in custody for three days, he was tortured. Subsequently, he was admitted to […]

NEPAL: Statement of the Terai Human Rights Defenders Alliance

A Statement from the Terai Human Rights Defenders Alliance forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) Torture victims further tormented in their pursuit of justice While much ink has rightfully been spilt over the need to implement the prohibition against torture under international law in Nepal, it is unfortunate that numerous members of the police force […]

PAKISTAN: Military and its housing authority responsible for drowning of dozens

During the three days of Eid holidays about three dozens people were drowned at the beaches of Karachi, the majority drowned at a beach run by Military, its commercial outlets and Clifton Cantonment, which are run directly under the Pakistan military. . Four persons drowned at two different beaches that were under the city government. […]

ASIA: Weekly Roundup, Episode 38

In the 38th episode of Human Rights Asia Weekly Roundup, AHRC TV opens the programme with a gruesome crime against a child in Pakistan, and the ensuing failure of both law enforcement and hospital care. A 10-year-old boy lost both arms as he was flung into a harvesting machine by a landowner who had a […]

SRI LANKA: Illegally Arrested, Hung, Tortured, & Tried on Fabricated Charges

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that on 9 May 2014 Mr. Edirisinghe Devayalage Sanjeewa Edirisinghe, 29 years of age, a resident of No.164, Heen Agara, Panirendawa, Chilaw, Puttalam District, was illegally arrested and tortured by police officers attached to the Chilaw Police Station Headquarters. He was detained in a […]

PAKISTAN: A teenager falsely branded a Taliban and shot dead in a staged encounter – A human rights defender’s life under threat for exposing such encounters

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a 17 year old boy –  a Sindhi national – had  been arrested, illegally detained  for eleven days, tortured in full view of his father demanding a huge sum of money  and later shot dead by the Police on the pretext of the boy […]

PHILIPPINES: Torture victim is grateful to those who helped him in his release

(Hong Kong, July 21, 2014) On June 23, we reported that Fernando Obedencio, a torture victim, was released after the court dismissed the fabricated charges laid on him for possession of illegal drugs. He was detained for nearly nine years. Photo: Fernando Obedencio The Moro Women Centre (MWC), the local group who documented and provided […]

ASIA: Weekly Roundup, Episode 36

The recurring pattern of police and military torture and fabrication of charges in the Philippines is the special focus of the 36th episode of Human Rights Asia Weekly Roundup. The last few years have seen case after case of human rights defenders, and other activists, being falsely accused of a crime and arrested by security officers in […]

INDONESIA: Newlywed Tortured Following Fabricated Charge of Cannabis Possession

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the arrest, detention, and torture of a man charged for cannabis possession. The arrest of Dany Lastino was conducted by two police officers, following an unverified report submitted over the phone by an unidentified caller. The arrest and torture has taken place just […]

PAKISTAN: Three missing after arrest and police reject the filing of the First Information Report

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information to the effect that three young persons have been arrested and taken to an undisclosed locations where they are allegedly being held. These persons were arrested while they were returning home from a picnic and have been with their families including, women and children […]

SRI LANKA: ‘People’s Tribunal to End Killings at Police Stations’ – to be Held on July 6, 2014 in Badulla

The Asian Human Right’s Commission sends its greetings to all those taking active part in making the ‘People’s Tribunal Against Killings at Police Stations’ a reality. When looking into recent killings at police stations in Sri Lanka, it is obvious that the decision to form a People’s Tribunal is an important one. It is a […]

THAILAND: Kampaeng Phet Provincial Court awarded 4,603,233 baht as compensation to Girl Air for torture and cruel treatment inflicted on her by her employers

The Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF) has been providing legal representation to Air, an ethnic Karen girl who has filed a case against her former employers for inflicting on her cruel treatment and enslavement. On 30 June 2014, around 2pm, the Kampaeng Phet Provincial Court read a verdict for the  case filed by Air’s […]

PAKISTAN: Threats to the lives of a minor who was gang raped and her father; a police officer suspended and transferred for taking action against the rapists

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a 13 year old girl was brutally gang raped during an entire night, by six infamous criminals who belong to a political party. The station head officer (SHO) has been suspended and thereafter transferred for filing charges of gang rape and assault against the […]

INDIA: Where police ignore distress calls

Article | India | 27-06-2014

by Avinash Pandey The phone calls were going unanswered. A group of men had broken into a female friend’s house and were holding her hostage. I was frantically calling the Senior Superintendent of Police, the local police station, and officials in the district administration. Every passing minute sent shivers down my spine. I thought to […]

SRI LANKA: Why are the police allowed and encouraged to lie?

by Basil Fernando The video footage is fairly clear. First we see a tall policeman wearing a helmet standing with his arm stretched towards the other side of the road. Then we see a scooter stopped just next to him. There is one man sat on the scooter. Looking closer, we see that the policeman […]

ASIA: Weekly Roundup, Episode 33

Today, on 26 June, the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, AHRC TV releases the 33rd episode of Human Rights Asia Weekly Roundup. On this occasion, which honours torture survivors across the world, AHRC TV details the endemic and routine nature of torture in Asia. In particular, the episode focuses on torture in […]