Torture

SRI LANKA: G Piyal Sanjeewa Perera – being beaten up and tortured at this moment at the Panadura Police Station

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. G Piyal Sanjeewa Perera a  30 year old man and a  father of two children is being beaten up at the Pandura Police Station at this very  moment.  We are writing to urge you to act to intervene to stop the torture […]

ASIA: AHRC TV- Human Rights Asia Weekly Roundup Episode 27

Today the AHRC releases the 27th Episode of the Human Rights Asia Weekly Roundup. In this week’s programmewe report on the spate of killings, torture, and vandalism that has erupted in western Assam, India, in the last few days. Thirty-two have lost their lives so far. We also interview Pakistani human rights defender BushraKhaliq about slavery in […]

INDIA: Youth tortured brutally by police in Assam, leg amputated

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Women in Governance (WinG-Assam), a network of women human rights defenders in Assam regarding the brutal torture of Mr. Bhaben Gogoi by Mr. Mayurjeet Gogoi, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Cinnamora police station and his team in Jorhat, Assam on 6 April 2014. As a […]

INDONESIA: Two Papuans assaulted for preventing police brutality

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received the information regarding an assault by members of the Mobile Brigade of Nabire District Police on two Papuans in Nabire. The two Papuans were assaulted when they were trying to stop a brutal attack by the police against another Papuan. They were both stabbed and […]

PAKISTAN: Protests against disappearances rise and the level of tolerance from the law enforcement agencies declines

The people of Pakistan watched the brutal attack by the police on a peaceful demonstration for the recovery of disappeared persons in front of Parliament House in Islamabad on April 28. There were more than 250 persons including a good number of women and children who were from the family members of disappeared persons. The […]

INDONESIA: High Court acquits two victims of torture and fabrication of charges

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information from the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta) regarding the fabrication of charges against and torture of two street singers in Cipulir. We are pleased to inform you that the Jakarta High Court has overturned the judgment of the South Jakarta District Court […]

THAILAND: Rights groups tell U.N. torture is still rife

(Hong Kong, April 25, 2014) Rights groups in Thailand have informed the U.N. of continuing, routine use of torture in the country, ahead of a review of its compliance with an international law against torture. In reports submitted to the U.N. Committee Against Torture as part of its review of Thailand under the Convention Against […]

PAKISTAN: A student leader is missing after his arrest by the ISI as witnessed by his associates

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the disappearance of a student leader from Balochistan province. He has been missing after his arrest from the meeting of the executive committee of his organisation by the notorious intelligence agency of Pakistan, the ISI. The personnel from the Frontier Corps (FC) of […]

ASIA: Global recognition for persecuted Bangladeshi human rights defender

Statement | Asia | 24-04-2014

Adilur Rahman Khan, Human Rights Defender of Bangladesh; AHRC File Photo Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan, a renowned human rights defender, who has been relentlessly persecuted by the incumbent regime in Bangladesh, has been recognized for his courage by the global human rights community. Adilur has been awarded the 2014 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights, which he […]

SRI LANKA / WORLD: Under which law did the Magistrate make the order to deport the lady tourist with the Tattoo of Lord Buddha?

According to reports a 37 year old British nurse who arrived in Sri Lanka this Monday (21st April 2014) was taken by a taxi driver to a nearby police station where, according to her, she was harassed by policemen who demanded money from her. She had arrived at the Airport and the immigration authorities had […]

PHILIPPINES: The AHRC’s comments on Manila mayor’s apology to 2010 bus hostage victims

(Hong Kong, April 23, 2014) Yesterday, Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada and his delegation arrived in Hong Kong reportedly to offer an apology on behalf of the City of Manila to the victims and families of the 2010 Manila bus hostage incident. In August 2010, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) had also expressed its concerns and […]

INDONESIA: Peaceful protesters arrested & tortured by police in Papua

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the arbitrary arrest and the torture of two Papuans participating in a peaceful protest. The protesters are reported to have been electrocuted and beaten while being transported to the Jayapura police station in a police truck. They have been forced to sign a […]

PHILIPPINES: Why the country is ranked 3rd dangerous place for journalists, activists

Recently, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) published its report ranking the country as 3rd “most deadly for journalists,” next to Iraq and Somalia. In another report, the Global Witness ranked the country as the 3rd “most dangerous” for environment and land defenders worldwide, next to Brazil and Honduras, where indigenous people struggle for control of their lands. The […]

SRI LANKA: Giriulla police illegally arrested, tortured and detained a man for 39 days without producing before any Court

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. A.A. Aberathna Bandara was illegally arrested, illegally detained for 39 days and severely tortured by officers attached to the Giriulla Police Station. Aberathna was arrested on 7 February but not produced in court until the 18 March. The police gave the explanation […]

SRI LANKA: Eight men are facing fabricated charges after illegal arrests and torture by police

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that seven persons were arrested and charged with being involved in a fracas that caused the death of one Mr. Renganathen. The confrontation occurred when a group of men tried to intervene in an argument between two men, Moses, a Catholic and Dickson, a […]

SRI LANKA: Nine people illegally arrested, detained and laid with fabricated charges

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a group of nine men were arrested by the Matale police at the instigation of the Superintendent of the Hunnasgiriya Estate. The incident occurred after a group of men protested at the office of the superintendent who had earlier assaulted a man for […]

INDIA: Criminal justice reform duty of state, not court

Statement | India | 16-04-2014

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) appreciates the observations made by the Supreme Court of India that the Indian criminal justice process will immensely benefit from crime investigating agencies adopting scientific investigation methods. The apex court has said that the old style of conducting investigations, relying on confession statements and oral evidence in criminal trials, […]

INDIA: Conflict induced displacement must end

Statement | India | 15-04-2014

The 30 July 2013 announcement of the Congress Working Committee decision to create a separate Telangana state within the Union of India spurred other statehood demands. In Assam, ethnic groups like the Bodos, Karbis, Dimasas, and Koch Rajbonshis – which have all been fighting for separate states for themselves – unleashed serial agitations and economic […]

SRI LANKA: The abuse of Presidential Pardon is an abdication of the state responsibility to control crime

The Panadura High Court judge, Kusala Sarojani Weerawardana, found ten Presidential Security Division (PSD) officers who were accused of assaulting two famous songsters Rookantha Gunathilike and Chanta Chandraleka Perera to be guilty of the charges and sentenced them to four and a half years of rigorous imprisonment. The PSD officers entered the living premises of […]

INDONESIA: Judges grant probation to prison guards involved in torture

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the torture case of Riko Yeyandra, an inmate who was tortured by two prison guards at Solok Correctional Facility, West Sumatra. The prison guards were found guilty of maltreatment by Solok District Court and sentenced to one year of imprisonment. The judges, […]