Derechos Humanos / Human Rights

Geneva, Sept.17.─ Inmates in North Korea's prison camps suffered starvation and torture and described "unspeakable atrocities" comparable with Nazi abuses uncovered after the Second World War, U.N. investigators said on Tuesday.

Evidence in their report, swiftly rejected by Pyongyang, showed a disturbing pattern of human rights violations, said Michael Kirby, who chairs the independent inquiry.

Physical Security a Concern

Aug. 12.─ Adilur Rahman Kahn, Secretary of Odhikar, a leading human rights organization in Bangladesh, was arrested by the Bangladeshi Detective Branch of Police without an arrest warrant (photo) on August 10, 2013, according to an Odhikar press release. The next day, Mr. Khan was brought before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court. According to Human Rights Watch, he was not allowed to speak with lawyers before the hearing, and the arrest "appears to be an attempt to silence one of the Bangladeshi government's most vocal critics prior to national elections." In addition, the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development reports that Mr. Khan has been the subject of harassment and intimidation by the State authorities on numerous occasions.

At the Court hearing, it was revealed that Mr. Khan was charged under the Information and Communication Technology Act for "publishing false images and information and disrupting the law and order situation of the country," according to Odhikar. The charge refers to Odhikar's fact-finding report about an incident on May 5, 2013 in Dhaka, when security forces violently attacked peaceful demonstrators in Shapla Square. The report stated that many people died in the crackdown but Odhikar refused to release the names to the government out of concern for the safety of the families of the deceased. Instead, Odhikar called for an independent commission to be established to investigate the incident, and to whom Odhikar would release the names.