The AHRC releases today the 19th Episode, of the Human Rights Asia Weekly Roundup
In this week’s programme we bring you coverage of the following stories from across Asia.
In news from Pakistan, threats continue for Baloch long marchers. The march completed its 100th day last Sunday and has now covered more than 2,700 kilometres. The protesters have reached the city of Punjab where, according to reports, they continue to be threatened.
In Sri Lanka, disguised police officers were attempting to disrupt a peaceful protest organized by residents and human rights activists in the city of Chilaw in North Western Province, but they were discovered before they could derail the event. The peaceful demonstration was to commemorate the brutal killing of civilians by the police last year.
From Nepal, we bring you the story of the commemoration of the 10th death anniversary of torture victim Maina Sunuwar, who was 14 years old when she was brutally tortured and raped by the Nepal Army officers.
News from Bangladesh highlights a pattern that is emerging concerning extrajudicial killings by law-enforcement agencies: officers take a detainee to a place where he “confessed” to hiding illegal weapons. In an ensuing gun battle staged by the police and officers of the RAB, the detainee is shot and killed.
In Pakistan, social activist Sahib Khan Ghoto was killed by the Intelligence Agency last Monday: 17 February 2014. According to reports, he was kidnapped on February 14 while returning home from a court hearing. Fabricated charges of illegal possession of explosives were filed against him. The Intelligence Service Agency officers detained him for three days and tortured him in custody culminating in his death.
Our sister organization, the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), made 17 separate written submissions to the United Nations Human Rights Council which starts its 25th Session next month in Geneva, Switzerland. The submissions cover a wide range of topics and are available for download at the ALRC’s website, www.alrc.net.
In our segment, Voices of Survivors: this week we speak with Abina Rombaoa, a relative of two torture victims in the Philippines.
The bulleting can be watched online at AHRC YouTube. We welcome both human rights feeds to be considered for weekly news bulletin and your suggestions to improve our news channel. Please write to news@ahrc.asia. You can also watch our Weekly Roundup on Facebook.
