Torture

Urgent medical help needed for torture victim  SRI LANKA – Torture by police, impunity, denial of proper rehabilitation  ——————————————————————–  Latest update available: Court orders Release Of Lalith Rajapakse  A young torture victim from a poor family is fighting for his life in Sri Lanka. We are asking you to write today to the Sri Lankan authorities […]

Dear Friends,  We would like to send you a copy of the 20th open letter sent by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) to the Jesuit superior general in Rome regarding Fr. Pallath’s case.  Readers are encouraged to write to the Jesuit superior general and call for an inquiry into Fr. Pallath’s case.  For further […]

Dear Friends,  We are forwarding you an appeal from the South Asia Forum for Human Rights (SAFHR) based in Nepal regarding the arbitrary detention and torture of Dr. Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir.  According to SAFHR, Dr. Alamgir has been in detention for one month without any formal charge and has been continuously subjected to torture. Please […]

Dear Friends,  We would like to send you a copy of the 19th open letter sent by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) to the Jesuit superior general in Rome regarding Fr. Pallath’s case.  Readers are encouraged to write to the Jesuit superior general and call for an inquiry into Fr. Pallath’s case.  For further […]

Dear Friends  We are pleased to inform you of great success thanks to your efforts in support of the ‘Bandung 19’, wrongfully arrested on June 15 2001, tortured, held incommunicado and subject to unfair trial. You will recall that the young workers, students and activists were protesting the government’s planned increase in oil prices. The […]

Dear friends, The political detention of a Kyrgyz opposition parliamentarian, Mr. Azimbek Beknazarov, 47, has taken a turn for the worse with reports of him being brutally beaten while in prison. Hundreds of Kyrgyz people are continuing their weeks’ long hunger strike over his treatment – at least one has already died in this protest. […]

Dear Friends,  We have written several updates on Angelina Roshana’s case. We are also aware that many persons have written to the Sri Lankan authorities on this matter, however the Attorney General has not yet taken any action. We urge readers to again write to the authorities on Ms. Roshana’s behalf. The most recent letter […]

Further to our Urgent Appeal of 28 January 2002 regarding the arrest and detention of Dr. Salai Tun Than in Rangoon, Burma, for holding a peaceful one-man protest, we have received additional details of the Professor’s arrest and his distinguished biography. 

Dear Friends,  We would like to send you a copy of the 18th open letter sent by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) to the Jesuit superior general in Rome regarding Fr. Pallath¡¦s case.  Readers are encouraged to write to the Jesuit superior general and call for an inquiry into Fr. Pallath¡¦s case.  For further […]

A Joint Statement By JanaSansadaya, Sri Lanka and the Asian Human Rights Commission AHRC Sri Lanka will celebrate the 54th anniversary of its independence from the British Raj on 4th February 2002. It is appropriate that it also be celebrated as Torture Elimination Day, to highlight the problems that need to be eliminated if the […]

This Urgent Appeal is regarding a high level police attack on the National Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka on 22 January, 2002. 

AHRC draws your attention to the casse of Angline Roshana who was arrested and tortured on 3rd December 2000. Despite many interventions, the Attorney General of Sri Lanka has refused to act Under Act No. 22 of 1994, which gives him the power to prosecute offenders for Torture or other forms of Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Dear Friends We are forwarding you an appeal from the highly respected Task Force Deteinees of the Philippines, regarding the torture of a fisherman in Cebu by the police of that region. Please read the short account of the incident and take the action requested. Urgent Appeals Desk ——————————————————————— URGENT ACTION TITLE : Alfredo Bantecil […]

AHRC welcomes the recent capture by the Indonesian police of Tommy Suharto – fugitive son of Gen. Suharto, accused of crimes ranging from corruption and graft to bombings and the assassination of a judge. However, we have serious doubts about the ability of the criminal justice system to proceed effectively, as the system is fundamentally flawed. Time and time again the influential elite and members of military and police charged with horrendous human rights crimes are not prosecuted or let off with ridiculously light sentences; while the poorer sections calling for decent wages and conditions, land for peasants or self-determination for indigenous peoples are harshly punished for raising their voices. 

There has been another instance of severe torture of a ‘suspect’ at the hands of the Sri Lankan police on the 6th of October. The person who suffered the torture was Mr. Namal Fernando, 37, a fulltime social worker and father of three from Pitipana Duwa, Negombo, 32 km from Colombo. It appears to have been a case of mistaken identity – he has now been released from without charge and has been recovering in hospital. We are asking you to write letters on behalf of the torture victim. Details of the incident are as follows:

Dear Friends, We’re forwarding you the following appeal made by Beginning a Solidarity Electronically in the 21st Century (BASE21) in South Korea. After President Kim Dae-jung took office, the South Korean government set up the Presidential Truth Commission on Suspicious Deaths (PTCSD) to bring to light suspicious deaths that took place during the last dictatorial […]

AHRC MEDIA Release  28 June 2001  Australia: High Commissioner Appointee responsible for atrocities  Former detainee under General Perera speaks out  Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is issuing today an eyewitness account [attached] of extreme physical and psychological torture, overcrowding and hundreds of disappearances/extrajudicial killings at an illegal military detention camp (in Wehera, Kurunegala district, 25 […]

(This statement is also available in Chinese and Korean, Please check your attachment)   UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL DAY IN SUPPORT OF VICTIMS OF TORTURE Invest Money to eradicate Torture; Mere talk is just hypocrisy! Perhaps, the only day that really reflects the reality of Asia is this day which remembers the victims of Torture. This […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission brings to your notice the following 3 cases of torture and extra-judicial killings, committed by the police in Sri Lanka. These 3 cases demonstrates blatant violations of right to be protected from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment. In the international law, torture is considered one of the gravest crimes. However, torture by the law enforcement officers in Sri Lanka is rampant.

Dear Friends,  We are sending you a copy of an third open letter sent today by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) to the Jesuit Supeior General in Rome regarding Fr. Pallath’s case.  This letter is also available at: http://jjpallath.ahrchk.net  Thank you.  Urgent Appeal Desk  Asian Human Rights Commission  ———————————————————————–  ( This is the third […]