Extrajudicial killing
An extrajudicial killing (also known as an extrajudicial execution or an extralegal killing)[1] is the deliberate killing of a person without the lawful authority granted by a judicial proceeding. It typically refers to government authorities, whether lawfully or unlawfully, targeting specific people for death, which in authoritarian regimes often involves political, trade union, dissident, religious and social figures. The term is typically used in situations that imply the human rights of the victims have been violated; deaths caused by police actions or legitimate warfighting are generally not included, even though military and police forces are often used for killings seen by critics as illegitimate. The label "extrajudicial killing" has also been applied to organized, lethal enforcement of extralegal social norms by non-government actors, including lynchings and honor killings.
United Nations
Morris Tidball-Binz was appointed the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions on 1 April 2021 by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).[2][3]
Human rights groups
Many human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, are campaigning against extrajudicial punishment.[4][5][6][7][8]
The Human Rights Measurement Initiative[9] measures the right to freedom from extrajudicial execution for countries around the world, using a survey of in-country human rights experts.[10]
International law
Law of war
Article 3(d) of the First Geneva Convention explicitly prohibits carrying out executions without passing a prior judgement by a competent and regularly constituted court with all commonly recognized judicial guarantees for everyone taking part in the trial.[11]
By country
Africa
Burundi
Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Burundi.[12][13]
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Democratic Republic of the Congo.[14]
Egypt
Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Egypt.[15][16][17][18][19] Egypt recorded and reported more than a dozen unlawful extrajudicial killings of apparent ‘terrorists’ in the country by the NSA officers and the Interior Ministry police in September 2021. A 101-page report detailed the ‘armed militants’ being killed in shootouts despite not posing any threat to the security forces or nations of the country while being killed, which in many cases were already in custody. Statements by the family and relatives of those killed claimed that the victims were not involved in any armed or violent activities.[20]
Eritrea
The 2019 Universal Periodic Review of the United Nations Human Rights Council found that in 2016, Eritrean authorities committed extrajudicial killings, in the context of a "persistent, widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population" since 1991, including "the crimes of enslavement, imprisonment, enforced disappearance, torture, other inhumane acts, persecution, rape and murder".[21]
Ethiopia
Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Ethiopia.[22][23][24][25]
Ivory Coast
Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Ivory Coast.[26]
Kenya
Extrajudicial executions are common in informal settlements in Kenya.[27] Killings are also common in Northern Kenya under the guise of counter-terrorism operations.[28]
Libya
Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Libya.[29]
Americas
Argentina
Argentina's National Reorganization Process military dictatorship during the 1976–1983 period used extrajudicial killings systematically as way of crushing the opposition in the so-called "Dirty War"[30] or what is known in Spanish as La Guerra Sucia. During this violent period, it is estimated that the military regime killed between eleven thousand and fifteen thousand people and most of the victims were known or suspected to be opponents of the regime.[31] These included intellectuals, labor leaders, human rights workers, priests, nuns, reporters, politicians, and artists as well as their relatives.[32][33] Authorities Half of the number of extrajudicial killings were reportedly carried out by the murder squad that operated from a detention center in Buenos Aires called Escuela Mecanica de la Armada.[31] The dirty wars in Argentina sometimes triggered even more violent conflicts since the killings and crackdowns precipitated responses from insurgents.[32]
Brazil
Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Brazil.[34][35][36][37][38] Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, son of President Jair Bolsonaro, was accused of having ties to death squads.[39]
Chile
When General Augusto Pinochet assumed power in the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, he immediately ordered the purges, torture, and deaths of more than 3,000 supporters of the previous democratic socialist government without trial.[40] During his regime, which lasted from 1973 to 1989, elements of the Chilean Armed Forces and police continued committing extrajudicial killings. These included Manuel Contreras, the former head of Chile's National Intelligence Directorate (DINA), which served as Pinochet's secret police. He was behind numerous assassinations and human rights abuses such as the 1974 abduction and forced disappearance of Socialist Party of Chile leader Victor Olea Alegria. Some of the killings were also coordinated with other right-wing dictatorships in the Southern Cone in the so-called Operation Condor. There were reports of United States' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) involvement, particularly within its activities in Central and South America that promoted anti-Communist coups.[41] While CIA's complicity was not proven, American dollars supported the regimes that carried out extrajudicial killings such as the Pinochet administration.[41] CIA, for instance, helped create DINA and the agency admitted that Contreras was one of its assets.[42]
Colombia
Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Colombia.[43]
An investigation of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace found that from 2002 to 2008, 6402 civilians were killed by the Government of Colombia, falsely claimed to be FARC rebels by the Military Forces of Colombia.[44]
El Salvador
Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in El Salvador.[45][46][47] During the Salvadoran Civil War, death squads achieved notoriety when far-right vigilantes assassinated Archbishop Óscar Romero for his social activism in March 1980. In December 1980, four Americans—three nuns and a lay worker—were raped and murdered by a military unit later found to have been acting on specific orders. Death squads were instrumental in killing hundreds of peasants and activists, including such notable priests as Rutilio Grande. Because the death squads involved were found to have been soldiers of the Salvadoran Armed Forces, which was receiving U.S. funding and training from American advisors during the Carter administration, these events prompted outrage in the U.S. and led to a temporary cutoff in military aid from the Reagan administration,[citation needed] although death squad activity stretched well into the Reagan years (1981–1989) as well.
Honduras
Honduras also had death squads active through the 1980s, the most notorious of which was Battalion 316. Hundreds of people, including teachers, politicians and union bosses, were assassinated by government-backed forces. Battalion 316 received substantial support and training from the United States Central Intelligence Agency.[48]
Jamaica
Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Jamaica.[49][50][51]
Mexico
Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Mexico.[52]
Suriname
On 7, 8, and 9 December 1982 fifteen prominent Surinamese men who had criticized Dési Bouterse's ruling military regime were murdered. This tragedy is known as the December murders. The acting commander of the army Dési Bouterse was sentenced 20 years in prison by the Surinamese court martial on the 29 November 2019.
United States
Due to the highly decentralized nature of policing in the United States, there are no official estimates of extrajudicial killings which are committed by law enforcement. According to research which was conducted by reporters at The Guardian, the number of killings which are committed by law enforcement in the United States is estimated to be around 1,000 per year. [53] The same figure is used by international human rights groups such as Amnesty International.[54] However, a 2021 study undertaken by researchers at the University of Washington and published in The Lancet suggests the total may be twice as high due to systemic underreporting by local police departments.[55]
Based on a survey of human rights experts administered by the Human Rights Measurement Initiative, the U.S. scores a 4.1 on a scale of 0-10 on the right to freedom from extrajudicial execution.[56]
Lynching
Lynching was the extrajudicial killings which began in the United States' pre–Civil War South in the 1830s and ended during the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. Although the victims of lynchings were members of various ethnicities, after roughly 4 million enslaved African Americans were emancipated, they became the primary targets of white Southerners. Lynchings in the U.S. reached their height from the 1890s to the 1920s, and they primarily victimised ethnic minorities. Most of the lynchings occurred in the American South because the majority of African Americans lived there, but racially motivated lynchings also occurred in the Midwest and border states.[57]
Targeted killing
One issue regarding extrajudicial killing is the legal and moral status of targeted killing by unmanned aerial vehicles of the United States.
Section 3(a) of the United States Torture Victim Protection Act contains a definition of extrajudicial killing:
a deliberate killing not authorized by a previous judgment pronounced by a regular constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples. Such term, however, does not include any such killing that, under international law, is lawfully carried out under the authority of a foreign nation.[58][a]
The legality of killings such as in the death of Osama bin Laden in 2011 and the death of Qasem Soleimani in 2020 have been brought into question. In that case, the US defended itself claiming the killing was not an assassination but an act of "National Self Defense".[59] There had been just under 2,500 assassinations by targeted drone strike by 2015, and these too have questioned as being extrajudicial killings.[60]
Concerns about targeted and sanctioned killings of non-Americans and American citizens in overseas counter-terrorism activities have been raised by lawyers, news firms[59] and private citizens.
On September 30, 2011 a drone strike in Yemen killed American citizens Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan.[61] Both resided in Yemen at the time of their deaths. The executive order approving Al-Awlaki's death was issued by Barack Obama in 2010, and was challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights in that year. The U.S. president issued an order, approved by the National Security Council, that Al-Awlaki's normal legal rights as a civilian should be suspended and his death should be imposed, as he was a threat to the United States. The reasons provided to the public for approval of the order were Al-Awlaki's links to the 2009 Fort Hood Massacre and the 2009 Christmas Day bomb plot, the attempted destruction of a Detroit-bound passenger-plane.[62] The following month, al-Awlaki's son Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, an American citizen, was killed by another US drone strike[63] and in January 2017 Nawar al-Awlaki, al-Awlaki's eight-year-old daughter, also an American citizen and half-sister of Abdulrahman, was shot to death during the raid on Yakla by American forces[64] along with between 9[65] and 29[66] other civilians, up to 14 al-Qaeda fighters, and American Navy SEAL William Owens.[67]
President Donald Trump
President Donald Trump continued the practice of extrajudicial killings of his predecessor. Those killed under this policy include:
- Qasem Soleimani, killed in Baghdad by a drone strike on 3 January 2020
The New York Times reported 13 November 2020 that Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah was assassinated 7 August 2020 on the streets of Tehran by Israeli operatives at the behest of the United States, according to four intelligence officials of the United States.[68]
Comments on Michael Reinoehl's death
On September 3, 2020, a law enforcement officer in Lacey, Washington fatally shot Michael Forest Reinoehl during a shootout. Reinoehl initiated the shootout according to statements by officials. However, there were conflicting witness reports, most notably Nathaniel Dingess, who told The New York Times, that agents opened fire on Reinoehl while on the phone and eating candy without verbal warning.[69][70][71][72] Dingess said that Reinoehl attempted to take cover by the side of a car before he was fatally shot and was only carrying a phone.[73] Reinoehl was a self-described Antifa activist who was charged of second-degree murder by the Portland Police Bureau following the fatal shooting on August 29, 2020, of a Patriot Prayer supporter, Aaron J. Danielson, in Portland, Oregon.[74] In a Fox News cable television interview September 12, 2020, hosted by Jeanine Pirro, President Trump commenting on Reinoehl's death said, "This guy [Reinoehl] was a violent criminal, and the U.S. Marshals killed him ... And I will tell you something – that's the way it has to be".[75] At an October 15, 2020 rally in Greenville, North Carolina he further elaborated on his praise for the shooting. Trump said "they didn't want to arrest him", which Rolling Stone characterized as Trump describing the Reinoehl's death as an extrajudicial killing.[76] although in a statement immediately after the death the United States Marshals Service had said that their task force was attempting to arrest Reinoehl.[76][77]
President Joe Biden
President Joe Biden continued his predecessors' practice of extrajudicial killings. Those killed during his administration include:
- Ayman al-Zawhiri, killed in Kabul by a drone strike on 31 July 2022.
Venezuela
Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Venezuela.[78][79] According to Human Rights Watch almost 18,000 people have been killed by security forces in Venezuela since 2016 for "resistance to authority" and many of these killings may constitute extrajudicial execution.[80] Amnesty International estimated that there were more than 8,200 extrajudicial killings in Venezuela from 2015 to 2017.[81]
Ahead of a three-week session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the OHCHR chief, Michelle Bachelet, visited Venezuela between 19 and 21 June 2019.[82] Bachelet expressed her concerns for the "shockingly high" number of extrajudiciary killings and urged for the dissolution of the Special Action Forces (FAES).[83] The report also details how the Venezuelan government has "aimed at neutralising, repressing and criminalising political opponents and people critical of the government" since 2016.[83]
Asia
Afghanistan
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan officials presided over murders, abduction, and other abuses with the tacit backing of their government and its western allies,[84] Human Rights Watch alleged in its report from March 2015.[85]
Bangladesh
Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Bangladesh.[86][87][88]
The Bangladesh Police special security force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has long been known for extrajudicial killing.[89] In a leaked WikiLeaks cable it was found that RAB was trained by the UK government.[90] 16 RAB officials (sacked afterwards) including Lt Col (sacked) Tareque Sayeed, Major (sacked) Arif Hossain, and Lt Commander (sacked) Masud Rana were given death penalty for abduction, murder, concealing the bodies, conspiracy and destroying evidences in the Narayanganj Seven Murder case.[91][92][93][94]
Beside this many alleged criminals were killed by Bangladesh police by the name of Crossfire.[95] In 2018, many alleged drug dealers were killed in the name of "War on Drugs" in Bangladesh.[96][97][98]
India
Hardeep Singh Nijjar was a political refugee from India living in Canada. He was murdered 18 June 2023. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused 18 September 2023 the Indian government publicly of complicity.[99]
Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in India.[100][101][102] A form of extrajudicial killing is called police encounters. Such encounters are also being staged by military and other security forces.[100][101][102] Extrajudicial killings are also common in Indian states especially in Uttar Pradesh where 73 people were killed from March 2017 to March 2019.[103] Police Encounter on 6 December 2019, by the Telangana Police in the 2019 Hyderabad gang rape case killing the 4 accused is another form of extrajudicial killing.
Indonesia
Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Indonesia.[104]
Iran
In the 1953 Iranian coup d'état a regime was installed through the efforts of the American CIA and the British MI6 in which the Shah (hereditary monarch) Mohammad Reza Pahlavi used SAVAK death squads (also trained by the CIA) to imprison, torture and/or kill hundreds of dissidents. After the 1979 revolution death squads were used to an even greater extent by the new Islamic government. In 1983, the CIA gave the Supreme Leader of Iran—Ayatollah Khomeini—information on KGB agents in Iran. This information was probably used. The Iranian government later used death squads occasionally throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s; however by the 2000s it seems to have almost entirely, if not completely, ceased using them.[105]
The Dutch secretary of Foreign Affairs Stef Blok wrote Januari 2019 to the States General of the Netherlands that the intelligence service AIVD had strong indications that Iran is responsible for the murder of Mohammad Reza Kolahi Samadi in 2015 in Almere and of Ahmad Mola Nissi in 2017 in The Hague.[106]
February 4, 2021 Iranian diplomat Asadollah Asadi and three other Iranian nationals were convicted in Antwerp for plotting to bomb a 2018 rally of National Council of Resistance of Iran in France.
Iraq
Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Iraq.[107][108][109][110][111]
Iraq was formed as a League of Nations mandate by the partition and domination of various tribal lands by the British Empire in the early 20th century, after the break-up of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War I. The United Kingdom granted independence to the Kingdom of Iraq in 1932, on the urging of King Faisal, though the British Armed Forces retained military bases and transit rights. King Ghazi of Iraq ruled as a figurehead after King Faisal's death in 1933, while undermined by attempted military coups, until his death in 1939. The United Kingdom invaded Iraq in 1941 for fear that the government of Rashid Ali al-Gaylani might cut oil supplies to Western nations, and because of his links to the Axis powers. A military occupation followed the restoration of the Hashemite monarchy, and the occupation ended on October 26, 1947. Iraq was left with a national government led from Baghdad made up of Sunni ethnicity in key positions of power, ruling over an ad hoc nation splintered by tribal affiliations. This leadership used death squads and committed massacres in Iraq throughout the 20th century, culminating in the Ba'athist dictatorship of Saddam Hussein.[112]
The country has since become increasingly partitioned following the Iraq War into three zones: a Kurdish ethnic zone to the north, a Sunni center and the Shia ethnic zone to the south. The secular Arab socialist Baathist leadership were replaced with a provisional and later constitutional government that included leadership roles for the Shia (Prime Minister) and Kurdish (President of the Republic) peoples of the nation. This paralleled the development of ethnic militias by the Shia, Sunni, and the Kurdish (Peshmerga).
There were death squads formed by members of every ethnicity.[113] In the national capital of Baghdad some members of the now-Shia Iraqi security forces (and militia members posing as members of Iraqi Police or Iraqi Armed Forces) formed unofficial, unsanctioned, but long-tolerated death squads.[114] They possibly had links to the Interior Ministry and were popularly known as the 'black crows'. These groups operated night or day. They usually arrested people, then either tortured[115] or killed[116] them.
The victims of these attacks were predominantly young males who had probably been suspected of being members of the Sunni insurgency. Agitators such as Abdul Razaq al-Na'as, Dr. Abdullateef al-Mayah, and Dr. Wissam Al-Hashimi have also been killed. These killings are not limited to men; women and children have also been arrested and/or killed.[117] Some of these killings have also been part of simple robberies or other criminal activities.
A feature in a May 2005 issue of the magazine of The New York Times claimed that the Multi-National Force – Iraq had modelled the "Wolf Brigade", the Iraqi interior ministry police commandos, on the death squads used in the 1980s to crush the left-wing insurgency in El Salvador.[118]
Western news organizations such as Time and People disassembled this by focusing on aspects such as probable militia membership, religious ethnicity, as well as uniforms worn by these squads rather than stating the United States-backed Iraqi government had death squads active in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.[119]
Israel
In a report from October 2015, Amnesty International documented incidents that "appear to have been extrajudicial executions" against Palestinian civilians.[120] Several of those incidents occurred after Palestinians attempted to attack Israelis or Israel Defense Forces soldiers. Even though the attackers did not pose a serious threat, they were shot without attempting to arrest the suspects before resorting to the use of lethal force. Medical attention for severely wounded Palestinians was in many cases delayed by Israeli forces.[120][121][122]
The New York Times reported 13 November 2020 that Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah was assassinated 7 August 2020 on the streets of Tehran by Israeli operatives at the behest of the United States, according to four intelligence officials of the United States.[68]
Iranian nuclear physicist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was killed 27 November 2020 on a rural road in Absard, a city near Tehran. One American official — along with two other intelligence officials — said that Israel was behind the attack on the scientist.[123]
On 16 March 2023, the Israeli Army killed four Palestinian militants in Jenin. One motionless victim was shot in the head. According to The Guardian, the Israeli group of military veterans against the occupation, Breaking the Silence, called this an "extrajudicial execution".[124]
Pakistan
Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Pakistan.[125] A form of extrajudicial killing called encounter killings by police is common in Pakistan.[126] Case in point is Naqeebullah Mehsud and Sahiwal Killings. The Province of Balochistan has also seen a significant number of disappearances, many of which have been attributed to security forces by residents: anti-government Baloch nationalists claim thousands of cases and have stated a belief that most of these disappeared persons have been killed.[127] Official numbers of disappeared persons have varied considerably, ranging between 55 and 1,100 victims.[128] Human rights organizations have dubbed this practice as the "kill and dump policy".[129]
Papua New Guinea
Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Papua New Guinea.[130][131]
Philippines
Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Philippines.[132][133][134][135][136][137][138]
Maguindanao massacre
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called the massacre the single deadliest event for journalists in history.[139] Even prior to this, the CPJ had labeled the Philippines the second most dangerous country for journalists, second only to Iraq.[139]
War on drugs
Following the victory of Rodrigo Duterte in the 2016 Philippine presidential election, a campaign against illegal drugs has led to widespread extrajudicial killings. This follows the actions by then-Mayor Duterte to roam Davao in order to "encounter to kill".[140]
The Philippine president has urged its citizens to kill suspected criminals and drug addicts,[141] ordered the police to adopt a shoot-to-kill[142] policy, has offered rewards for killing suspects,[143] and has even admitted to personally killing suspected criminals.[144]
The move has sparked widespread condemnation from international publications[144][145][146][147][148] and magazines,[149][150][151] prompting the Philippine government to issue statements denying the existence of state-sanctioned killings.[152][153][154]
Though Duterte's controversial war on drugs was opposed by the United States under President Barack Obama,[155] the European Union,[156] and the United Nations, Duterte claims that he has received approving remarks from US President Donald Trump.[157]
On September 26, 2016, Duterte issued guidelines that would enable the United Nations Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Killings to probe the rising death toll.[158] On December 14, 2016, Duterte cancelled the planned visit of the Rapporteur who declined to accept government conditions that were not consistent with the code of conduct for special rapporteurs.[159][160]
Saudi Arabia
The Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi was assassinated at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018.
Syria
Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Syria.[161][162][163]
Tajikistan
Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Tajikistan.[164][165]
Thailand
Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Thailand.[166] Reportedly thousands of extrajudicial killings occurred during the 2003 anti-drug effort of Thailand's prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Rumors still persist that there is collusion between the government, rogue military officers, the radical right wing, and anti-drug death squads.[167][168][169][170][171][172][173]
Both Muslim[174] and Buddhist[175] sectarian death squads still operate in the south of the country.
Turkey
Extrajudicial killings and death squads are common in Turkey.[176][177][178][179][180] In 1990 Amnesty International published its first report on extrajudicial executions in Turkey.[178] In the following years the problem became more serious. The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey determined the following figures on extrajudicial executions in Turkey for the years 1991 to 2001:[181]
1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 |
98 | 283 | 189 | 129 | 96 | 129 | 98 | 80 | 63 | 56 | 37 |
In 2001 the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Ms. Asma Jahangir, presented a report on a visit to Turkey.[182] The report presented details of killings of prisoners (26 September 1999, 10 prisoners killed in a prison in Ankara; 19 December 2000, an operation in 20 prisons launched throughout Turkey resulted in the death of 30 inmates and two gendarmes).
For the years 2000–2008 the Human Rights Association (HRA) gives the following figures on doubtful deaths/deaths in custody/extra judicial execution/torture by paid village guards[183]
2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
173 | 55 | 40 | 44 | 47 | 89 | 130 | 66 | 65 |
In 2008 the human rights organization Mazlum Der counted 25 extrajudicial killings in Turkey.[184]
Vietnam
Nguyễn Văn Lém (referred to as Captain Bay Lop) (died 1 February 1968 in Saigon) was a member of the Viet Cong who was summarily shot in Saigon during the Tet Offensive. The photograph of his death would become one of many anti-Vietnam War icons in the Western World.[185]
Europe
Belarus
In 1999 Belarusian opposition leaders Yury Zacharanka and Viktar Hanchar together with his business associate Anatol Krasouski disappeared. Hanchar and Krasouski disappeared the same day of a broadcast on state television in which President Alexander Lukashenko ordered the chiefs of his security services to crack down on "opposition scum". Although the State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus (KGB) had them under constant surveillance, the official investigation announced that the case could not be solved. The disappearance of journalist Dzmitry Zavadski in 2000 has also yielded no results. Copies of a report by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which linked senior Belarusian officials to the cases of disappearances, were confiscated.[186] Human Rights Watch claims that Zacharanka, Hanchar, Krasouski and Zavadski likely became victims of extrajudicial executions.[187]
Russia
Extrajudicial killings have taken place in Russia.[188][189] In the Russian Federation, a number of journalist murders were attributed to public administration figures, usually where the publications would reveal their involvement in large corruption scandals. It has been regarded that the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko was linked to Russian special forces. American and British intelligence agents have claimed that Russian assassins, some possibly at orders of the government, are behind at least fourteen targeted killings in the United Kingdom that police authorities have termed non-suspicious.[190] The United Kingdom attributes the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in March 2018 to the Russian military-intelligence agency GRU. The German foreign minister Heiko Maas said there were "several indications" that Russia was behind the poisoning of Alexei Navalny.[citation needed]
Soviet Union
In Soviet Russia, since 1918 the secret police organization Cheka was authorized to execute counter-revolutionaries without trial. Hostages were also executed by Cheka during the Red Terror in 1918–1920. The successors of Cheka also had the authority for extrajudicial executions. In 1937–38 hundreds of thousands were executed extrajudicially during the Great Purge under the lists approved by NKVD troikas. In some cases, the Soviet special services did not arrest and then execute their victims but just secretly killed them without any arrest. For example, Solomon Mikhoels was murdered in 1948 and his body was run over to create the impression of a traffic accident. The Soviet special services also conducted extrajudicial killings abroad, most notably of Leon Trotsky in 1940 in Mexico, Stepan Bandera in 1959 in Germany, Georgi Markov in 1978 in London.
Spain
From 1983 until 1987, the Spanish government supported paramilitary squads, denominated GAL, to fight ETA, a Basque terrorist organization. A relevant example was the Lasa and Zabala case, in which José Antonio Lasa and José Ignacio Zabala were kidnapped, tortured and executed by police forces in 1983.
United Kingdom
During the Troubles, an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland, British security forces and intelligence agents were accused of committing extrajudicial killings against suspected IRA members.[191][192] Brian Nelson, an Ulster Defence Association member and secret British agent, was convicted in a court of sectarian murders.[193][194][195]
Operation Kratos referred to tactics developed by London's Metropolitan Police for dealing with suspected suicide bombers, most notably firing shots to the head without warning. Little was revealed about these tactics until after the mistaken shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes on 22 July 2005.[citation needed]
See also
- Assassination
- Blood atonement
- Crime of passion
- Deadly force
- Death flights
- Death squad
- Encounter killing
- Extraordinary rendition
- Extrajudicial punishment
- Feud
- Forced disappearance
- Frontier justice
- Hate crime
- Honor killing
- Israeli targeted killings
- Jungle justice
- List of killings by law enforcement officers
- Lynching
- Manhunt (military)
- Pogrom
- Posse comitatus (common law)
- Purge
- Summary execution
- Targeted killing
- Terrorism
- The Troubles
- Vigilante
- Witch-hunt
References
Notes
- ^ The legal exclusion in the sentence that starts "Such term, however ... " covers the killing of enemy combatants and others who are not protected under international law from extrajudicial killing.
References
- ^ VERA Files (14 November 2017). "VERA FILES FACT SHEET: 'Extra-legal' and 'extrajudicial' killings, explained". VERA Files. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
- ^ Morris Tidball-Binz OHCHR
- ^ Special Rapporteur on executions OHCHR
- ^ "El Salvador: The spectre of death squads". www.amnesty.org. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
- ^ "The Project on Extrajudicial Executions home". www.extrajudicialexecutions.org.
- ^ Section, United Nations News Service (28 March 2007). "UN News - UN independent expert on extrajudicial killings urges action on reported incidents".
- ^ "Dickey: Iraq, Salvador and Death-Squad Democracy – Newsweek The War in Iraq – MSNBC.com". Archived from the original on 1 November 2005. Retrieved 4 January 2008.
- ^ "Special Forces May Train Assassins, Kidnappers in Iraq – Newsweek The War in Iraq – MSNBC.com". Archived from the original on 9 August 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2006.
- ^ "Human Rights Measurement Initiative – The first global initiative to track the human rights performance of countries". humanrightsmeasurement.org. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
- ^ "Right to freedom from disappearance - HRMI Rights Tracker". rightstracker.org. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
- ^ "Treaties, States parties, and Commentaries - Geneva Convention (I) on Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field,1949 - 3 - Article 3 : Conflicts not of an international character - Commentary of 2016". ihl-databases.icrc.org. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
- ^ AfricaNews (30 December 2016). "Burundi: 348 'extrajudicial' killings in 12 months - UN".
- ^ "Burundi: Extrajudicial executions and systematic killings must be investigated". 22 December 2015.
- ^ Section, United Nations News Service (8 December 2015). "UN News - DR Congo: UN report accuses security forces of summary executions and death threats ahead of elections".
- ^ "Egyptian soldiers accused of killing unarmed Sinai men in leaked video". BBC News. 21 April 2017.
- ^ "2,978 cases of extra-judicial killings in 3 years - EgyptWatch". 8 September 2016.
- ^ "Egypt rights group says 754 extrajudicial killings in 2016". Fox News. 8 June 2016.
- ^ "March Horrific Harvest: Hundreds of 'Disappeared', Tortured and 177 Extrajudicial Killings - Egyptian Coordination for rights and freedoms". ecrfeg.org. Archived from the original on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
- ^ Arab, The New (25 January 2017). "Egypt police carry out 'extrajudicial execution' in North Sinai".
- ^ "Egypt: 'Shootouts' Disguise Apparent Extrajudicial Executions". HRW. 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ "Compilation on Eritrea – Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights" (PDF). United Nations Human Rights Council. 9 November 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
- ^ "Ethiopia – extrajudicial killing/torture/arbitrary arrests". World Organisation Against Torture. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
- ^ Arubi, Emma (20 August 2012). "Nigeria: Delta Community Alleges Extrajudicial Killing by Soldiers". AllAfrica.
- ^ "Kenya".
- ^ "Uganda: Torture, Extortion, Killings by Police Unit". 23 March 2011.
- ^ "Cote d'Ivoire: UN demands inquiry into 13 torture deaths". IRIN Africa. 16 March 2005. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
- ^ "Missing Voices – A group of organisations who have the mission to shine light upon extrajudicial killings". Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- ^ "Kenya: Killings, Disappearances by Anti-Terror Police". Human Rights Watch. 18 August 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- ^ "Libya - in-year update July 2015 - gov.uk".
- ^ "Página/12 :: El país :: Veinticinco años del informe de la Conadep". www.pagina12.com.ar.
- ^ a b Totten, Samuel; Bartrop, Paul Robert; Jacobs, Steven (2008). Dictionary of Genocide, Volume 1. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 114. ISBN 9780313329678.
- ^ a b Horvitz, Leslie Alan; Catherwood, Christopher (2014). Encyclopedia of War Crimes and Genocide. New York: Infobase Publishing. p. 124. ISBN 9781438110295.
- ^ Combs, Cindy; Slann, Martin (2009). Encyclopedia of Terrorism, Revised Edition. New York: Infobase Publishing. p. 19. ISBN 978-0816062775.
- ^ "Brazil: Surge in killings by police sparks fear in favelas ahead of Rio Olympics". Amnesty International. 27 April 2016.
- ^ "Good Cops Are Afraid". Human Rights Watch. 7 July 2016.
- ^ "Brazil: 'Trigger happy' military police kill hundreds as Rio prepares for Olympic countdown". Amnesty International. 3 August 2015.
- ^ Fantz, Ashley; Castillo, Mariano (6 August 2015). "Amnesty International report slams killings by police in Rio de Janeiro". CNN.
- ^ Janowitz, Nathaniel (7 July 2016). "Cops in Rio keep killing people ahead of Brazil's Olympics, report says". VICE News.
- ^ "Video: As Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro Prepares to Meet Donald Trump, His Family's Close Ties to Notorious Paramilitary Gangs Draw Scrutiny and Outrage". The Intercept. 18 March 2019.
- ^ Ball, Howard (2002). War Crimes and Justice: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. p. 33. ISBN 157607899X.
- ^ a b Geraghty, Tony (2012). Black Ops: The Rise of Special Forces in the CIA, the SAS, and Mossad. New York: Pegasus Books. ISBN 9781605987613.
- ^ McSherry, Patrice (2005). Predatory States: Operation Condor and Covert War in Latin America. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. pp. 71. ISBN 9780742536876.
- ^ Cosoy, Natalio (24 June 2015). "Colombia's top army officers 'knew of extrajudicial killings'". BBC News.
- ^ "Peace court: Colombia army 'behind 6,400 extrajudicial killings'". BBC News. 18 February 2021.
- ^ "Document". www.amnesty.org. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
- ^ "El Salvador: War, Peace, and Human Rights, 1980–1994". Gwu.edu. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
- ^ wola. "Amid Rising Violence, El Salvador Fails to Address Reports of Extrajudicial Killings". WOLA. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
- ^ Thompson, Gary Cohn and Ginger. "When a wave of torture and murder staggered a small U.S. ally, truth was a casualty".
- ^ "Louis-Jodel Chamblain – Convicted assassin and leader of death squads". Archived from the original on 21 November 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2008.
- ^ Younge, Gary (6 December 2005). "Jamaican gay activist shot dead after being abducted". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
- ^ Eisner, Peter (16 March 2004). "Aristide Back in Caribbean Heat". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2 May 2010. Note: first page of this article is missing from The Washington Post website, but can be found here [1] Archived 2014-04-19 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ ""Extrajudicial killings and impunity persist in Mexico" – UN rights expert's follow-up report".
- ^ "The Counted: Tracking people killed by police in the United States | US News | the Guardian". TheGuardian.com.
- ^ "Deadly Force & Police Accountability".
- ^ Arango, Tim; Dewan, Shaila (30 September 2021). "More Than Half of Police Killings Are Mislabeled, New Study Says". The New York Times.
- ^ "United States".
- ^ "Lynching in America: Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror". lynchinginamerica.eji.org. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
- ^ Congressional Record, V. 147, Pt. 6, May 9, 2001 to May 21 2001, United States Government Printing Office, October 2005, p. 7897, ISBN 9780160729669, GGKEY:2126SDPKSFJ
- ^ a b Lewis, Aiden (12 May 2011). "Osama Bin Laden: Legality of Killing questioned". BBC News. BBC News. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
- ^ Serle, Jack. "Almost 2,500 now killed by cover US drone strikes". The Bureau. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
- ^ Mazzetti, Mark; Schmitt, Eric; Worth, Robert F. (30 September 2011). "Two-Year Manhunt Led to Killing of Awlaki in Yemen". New York Times. Archived from the original on 4 May 2014.
- ^ Leonard, Tom (7 April 2010). "Barack Obama orders killing of US cleric Anwar al-Awlaki". The Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022.
- ^ Mark Mazzetti; Charlie Savage; Scott Shane (9 March 2013). "How a U.S. Citizen Came to Be in America's Cross Hairs". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 22 April 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
- ^ Scahill, Jeremy; Kebriaei, Pardiss; Shiban, Baraa (3 February 2017). "Yemen: Jeremy Scahill & Advocates Question "Success" of Trump Raid That Killed 24 Civilians". Democracy Now! (Interview). Interviewed by Amy Goodman. Pacifica Foundation. Archived from the original on 17 November 2018. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
- ^ "Yemeni civilians killed in first US raid under Trump: At least 10 women and children killed in operation targeting al-Qaeda in southern province of al-Bayda, medics say". www.aljazeera.com. 30 January 2017. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
- ^ Osborne, Samuel (2 March 2017). "Raid authorised by Trump that killed 31 people produced no valuable intelligence, officials say". Independent.co.uk. Archived from the original on 21 January 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
- ^ Ackerman, Spencer; Burke, Jason; Borger, Julian (1 February 2017). "Eight-year-old American girl 'killed in Yemen raid approved by Trump'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
- ^ a b Goldman, Adam; Schmitt, Eric; Fassihi, Farnaz; Bergman, Ronen (14 November 2020). "Al Qaeda's No. 2, Accused in U.S. Embassy Attacks, Was Killed in Iran". The New York Times.
- ^ Bernstein, Maxine (9 September 2020). "Witness says officers never gave commands before firing at Michael Reinoehl outside WA apartment". The Oregonian. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
- ^ Davis, Charles (10 September 2020). "Eyewitness claims police killed 'antifa' Portland murder suspect before giving any commands". Business Insider. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
- ^ Elfrink, Tim (10 September 2020). "Police shot Portland slaying suspect without warning or trying to arrest him first, witness says". Washington Post. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- ^ Conrad Wilson (31 March 2021). "Investigators complete review of federal police shooting that killed wanted Portland activist". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
According to the Thurston County investigators reviewing the case, Reinoehl "initiated" an exchange of gunfire with officers before he was killed
- ^ Elfrink, Tim (10 September 2020). "The Washington Post". TheWashingtonPost. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
- ^ Maxine Bernstein (5 September 2020). "Michael Reinoehl appeared to target right-wing demonstrator before fatal shooting in Portland, police say". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
Portland police obtained a warrant Thursday afternoon charging Reinoehl with second-degree murder with a weapon and unlawful use of a weapon.
- ^ Pirro, Jeanine (12 September 2020). "Justice With Judge Jeanine: (Donald Trump interviewed; transcript) President Trump on COVID Response, Bob Woodward's Book, Push for Coronavirus Vaccine, Mail-in Voting ConcernsJustice With Judge Jeanine: President Trump on COVID Response, Bob Woodward's Book, Push for Coronavirus Vaccine, Mail-in Voting Concerns". Fox News (online). Retrieved 14 September 2020. (transcript of a TV broadcast) (video via YouTube)
- ^ a b Dickinson, Tim (15 October 2020). "Trump Claims — and Celebrates — Extrajudicial Killing of Antifa Activist: Crowd cheers Trump at a North Carolina rally as he describes Michael Reinoehl's killing at the hands of U.S. Marshals". Rolling Stone. ISSN 0035-791X. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020.
- ^ "U.S. Marshals Statement on the Officer-Involved Shooting in Olympia, Washington, Sept. 3" (Press release). United States Marshals Service. 4 September 2020. Archived from the original on 5 September 2020.
The fugitive task force located Reinoehl in Olympia and attempted to peacefully arrest him. Initial reports indicate the suspect produced a firearm, threatening the lives of law enforcement officers. Task force members responded to the threat and struck the suspect who was pronounced dead at the scene.
- ^ "World Report 2002: Venezuela". Human Rights Watch.
- ^ "World Report 2003: Venezuela". Human Rights Watch.
- ^ "Venezuela: Extrajudicial Killings in Poor Areas Pattern of Serious Police Abuse Goes Unpunished". Human Rights Watch. 18 September 2019.
- ^ McKenzie, David; Vasco Cotovio (30 April 2019). "The women fighting to solve hundreds of mysterious murders in Venezuela". CNN. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
- ^ Pons, Corina; Castro, Shaylim (22 June 2019). "U.N. rights chief Bachelet urges Venezuela to release prisoners". Reuters. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
- ^ a b "UN report cites 'shockingly high' number of likely 'executions' in Venezuela". France 24. 5 July 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
- ^ Graham-Harrison, Emma (3 March 2015). "Afghanistan officials sanctioned murder, torture and rape, says report". The Guardian.
- ^ "Today We Shall All Die". Human Rights Watch. 3 March 2015.
- ^ "Bangladesh: Release Journalist and Rights Activist - All American Patriots". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.
- ^ "Calls for end to torture, extrajudicial killings". Irinnews.org. 7 March 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
- ^ "Bangladesh Police Accused of Extrajudicial Killings in Protest Crackdown - VICE News". 2 February 2015.
- ^ "Crossfire". Human Rights Watch. 10 May 2011.
- ^ Karim, Fariha; Cobain, Ian (21 December 2010). "WikiLeaks cables: Bangladeshi 'death squad' trained by UK government". The Guardian.
- ^ "35 indicted in Narayanganj 7-murder cases". 8 February 2016.
- ^ "Court indicts 35 including Nur Hossain, three ex-RAB officials for Narayanganj seven-murder".
- ^ "Ex-AL men, Ex-RAB officials among 26 handed death penalty". Prothom Alo. Archived from the original on 19 January 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
- ^ "7-murder: Nur Hossain, Rab commander Tareque, 24 others get death". The Daily Star. 16 January 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
- ^ "Crossfire killings". The Daily Star. 26 August 2015.
- ^ Baldwin, Clare (13 August 2018). "Arrested and killed: inside the Bangladesh prime minister's war on drugs". U.S. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
- ^ Safi, Michael; Rahman, Shaikh Azizur (25 May 2018). "Bangladesh's Philippines-style drugs war creating 'atmosphere of terror'". the Guardian. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
- ^ Swati Gupta; Sugam Pokharel (8 June 2018). "Bangladesh defends war on drugs as body count mounts". CNN. CNN. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
- ^ Tasker, John Paul (18 September 2023). "Trudeau accuses India's government of involvement in killing of Canadian Sikh leader". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
- ^ a b "Amnesty International Highlights Extrajudicial Killings in Kashmir - KashmirWatch". 9 July 2015.
- ^ a b "US rights report slams India for 'extra judicial killings' and 'arbitrary arrests' - Times of India". The Times of India. 16 April 2016.
- ^ a b Jha, Prem Shankar. "Police Encounters are the Dirty Side of Indian Democracy - The Wire".
- ^ Zee News (25 March 2018), List of UP encounters in Yogi Adityanath regime, archived from the original on 17 November 2021, retrieved 6 April 2019
- ^ "INDONESIA: Extrajudicial and summary executions remain a serious problem despite legal guarantees to the right to life – Asian Legal Resource Centre". alrc.asia.
- ^ Sahim, Muhammad (14 December 2009). "The Chain Murders". Tehran Bureau. PBS. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
- ^ Parool
- ^ Torture and Extrajudicial Killings in Iraq Archived July 14, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "ei: Extrajudicial Killings". Archived from the original on 26 February 2011. Retrieved 4 January 2008.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Document". www.amnesty.org. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
- ^ "Proof of US orchestration of Death Squads Killings in Iraq". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 4 January 2008.
- ^ "Soccer Dad: Extrajudicial killings, hamas style". Archived from the original on 28 September 2007.
- ^ "History of Iraq: 1933 - 1939".
- ^ "U.S. cracks down on Iraq death squads". CNN. 24 July 2006.
- ^ Beaumont, Peter (11 September 2006). "US patrols to weed out militias posing as Iraqi police". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
- ^ "Iraq's Death Squads". The Washington Post. 4 December 2005. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
- ^ Buncombe, Andrew; Cockburn, Patrick (26 February 2006). "Iraq's death squads: On the brink of civil war". The Independent. London, UK. Archived from the original on 29 June 2007.
- ^ "'25,000 civilians' killed in Iraq". BBC. 19 July 2005.
- ^ Maass, Peter (1 May 2005). "The Way of the Commandos". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
- ^ "Iraq 'death squad caught in act'". BBC News. 16 February 2006. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
- ^ a b "Israeli forces in Occupied Palestinian Territories must end pattern of unlawful killings". www.amnesty.org. 27 October 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
- ^ "Israel/OPT: Investigate apparent extrajudicial execution at Hebron hospital". www.amnesty.org. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
- ^ "Bringing into question Israel's extrajudicial killings".
- ^ Sanger, David E.; Schmitt, Eric; Fassihi, Farnaz; Bergman, Ronen (28 November 2020). "Gunmen Assassinate Iran's Top Nuclear Scientist in Ambush, Provoking New Crisis". New York Times. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
- ^ "Palestinians enraged after Israeli forces shoot prone militant in head in Jenin". The Guardian. 17 March 2023.
- ^ "Pakistan army accused of extrajudicial killings in Swat". BBC News. 16 July 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
- ^ "Rao Anwar and the killing fields of Karachi". DAWN. 16 February 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
- ^ ""We Can Torture, Kill, or Keep You for Years": Enforced Disappearances by Pakistan Security Forces in Balochistan". Human Rights Watch, Press Release. 28 July 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
- ^ "HRW; For years
- ^ "Balochistan: Pakistan's "Kill and Dump" Policy". unpo.org. Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
- ^ Davidson, Helen (23 October 2015). "Papua New Guinea students share video appearing to show women tortured for 'witchcraft'". The Guardian.
- ^ World Report 2014: Papua New Guinea. 21 January 2014.
- ^ Iyengar, Rishi (5 September 2016). "Philippines: Rodrigo Duterte's Drug War Claims 2,400 Lives".
- ^ Arroyo fails to take steps to end extrajudicial killings Archived April 18, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Huggler, Justin (22 February 2007). "Philippines army accused of killing political activists". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 23 November 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
- ^ "STOP Extra-Judicial Killings in the Philippines". Archived from the original on 6 June 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
- ^ "Scared Silent: Impunity for Extrajudicial Killings in the Philippines". Hrw.org. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- ^ "U.N. Rapporteur: Philippines Military Implicated in Extra-Judicial Murders and Political Killings (Radio Pinoy USA)". Archived from the original on 4 June 2009. Retrieved 11 November 2007.
- ^ "PC(USA) News: 'Graft and corruption'". Archived from the original on 10 August 2009. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ a b Papa, Alcuin (26 November 2009). "Maguindanao massacre worst-ever for journalists". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on 29 November 2009. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
- ^ Rauhala, Emily (14 December 2016). "Duterte keeps admitting to killing people. His supporters keep shrugging it off". The Washington Post. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
Westcott, Ben; Quiano, Kathy (14 December 2016). "Philippines President Duterte admits killing suspects". CNN. - ^ Gomez, Jim. "Duterte urges public to kill drug dealers". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- ^ Press, AJ. "Duterte issues "shoot-to-kill" order vs drug criminals who resist arrest". Asian Journal. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ Times, Straits. "Duterte offers big bounties for suspected criminals". The Straits Times. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
- ^ a b "Duterte admits personally killing suspects". BBC News. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
- ^ Times, New York (7 December 2016). "They are slaughtering us like animals". BBC News. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
- ^ "Philippines: Inside Duterte's killer drug war". Al Jazeera News. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
- ^ Morning Herald, The Sydney. "Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte admits to killing people and abusing drugs". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
- ^ Guerra, Kristine. "Duterte's war on drugs has killed hundreds in the Philippines. This could be a huge problem". The Washington Post. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ^ "The human toll of the Philippines' war on drugs". The Economist Magazine. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
- ^ Magazine, Times. "The Killing Time: Inside Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's War on Drugs". Times Magazine. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
- ^ Fair, Vanity. "The Mass Murder in the Philippines is Far Worse Than Most Media Report". Vanity Fair Magazine. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
- ^ Lucas, Daxim. "Cabinet members scramble to interpret Duterte's words". Global Inquirer.Net. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
- ^ Sara Fabunan, John Paolo Bencito and. "PH-US 'war games' end in Oct.—Du30". Manila Standard. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
- ^ and Sara Fabunan, John Paolo Bencito. "UN slams Hitler gaffe". Manila Standard. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
- ^ Placido, Dharel. "Obama to Duterte: Do war on drugs 'the right way'". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
- ^ Torres, Estrella. "EU urges PH to stop extrajudicial killings on drug suspects". Inquirer.net. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
- ^ Politi, Daniel. "Philippines President Says Trump Congratulated Him on Violent Anti-Drug Crackdown". The Slatest. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- ^ Placido, Dharel. "Duterte sets conditions for UN drug killings probe". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ "Duterte admin cancels visit of UN Rapporteur on extrajudicial killings". GMA News. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
- ^ Interaksyon (5 May 2017). "UNPROFESSIONAL? | Palace irked by 'unannounced' visit of UN rapporteur; FLAG says trip personal". Interaksyon. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
- ^ "AI estimates up to 13,000 civilians executed in Syrian military prison over four years - News - DW - 07.02.2017". DW.COM.
- ^ "UN Experts: Widespread Abuses and Killings of Detainees in Syria". 17 February 2016.
- ^ "Syria: Extrajudicial Executions". 9 April 2012.
- ^ "Tajikistan: Severe Crackdown on Political Opposition". 17 February 2016.
- ^ "U.S. Department of State: Tajikistan Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1998". 1 March 1999.
- ^ "Thailand: Extrajudicial killing, impunity". Ahrchk.net. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
- ^ Brayton, Colin (23 December 2007). "Thailand: "The Corrupt Media Mogul v. The Crusading Journalist"".
- ^ "Commit". Correct.go.th. Archived from the original on 27 May 2011. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
- ^ "Death Squad links. Drug war and more. Worldwide. Mostly U.S.-run or U.S.-aided terrorism. Millions killed over decades. Torture on an industrial scale. "Dirty wars," murder, corruption, destabilization, disinformation, subversion of democracy, etc.. Above". Angelfire.com. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
- ^ "Thailand's anti-drug death squads | Cannabis Culture Magazine". Cannabisculture.com. 15 August 2003. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
- ^ "Thailand. 2500 extrajudicial drug-war killings of innocent people". Archived from the original on 6 December 2009. Retrieved 7 February 2008.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Thailand War on Drugs Turns Murderous, 600 Killed This Month -- Human Rights Groups Denounce Death Squads, Executions".
- ^ "Southeast Asia: Probe into Thai Drug War Killings Getting Underway". StoptheDrugWar.org. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
- ^ "Thailand: Death Squads and Roadside Bombs". Strategypage.com. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
- ^ "Buddhists suspected in Thai raids". The Washington Times. Washington, DC. 7 September 2007. Archived from the original on 27 April 2014.
- ^ "Turkey: State Blocks Probes of Southeast Killings". 11 July 2016.
- ^ "ZAMAN". Archived from the original on 22 September 2014.
- ^ a b The report Turkey: Extrajudicial Executions (AI Index: EUR 44/45/90) was accessed on 10 September 2009
- ^ "MİT bill raises concerns about possible boost in extrajudicial killings". Archived from the original on 8 December 2014. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
- ^ "Turkish military officer confirms Kurd killings | The National". Thenational.ae. 25 August 2010. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
- ^ Source: Report for 2001, published on 10 March 2003, Ankara, ISBN 975-7217-38-7, page 49 (Turkish)
- ^ The full report as pdf-file Archived 2007-10-02 at the Wayback Machine; accessed on 10 September 2009
- ^ The comparative balance sheet of the HRA is available in English; Archived 30 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine; accessed on 10 September 2009
- ^ The full report in Turkish as word-file Archived 2012-02-27 at the Wayback Machine; accessed on 10 September 2009
- ^ "Nguyen Ngoc Loan, 67, Dies; Executed Viet Cong Prisoner". The New York Times. 16 July 1998. Archived from the original on 20 April 2009. Retrieved 5 July 2009.
- ^ "16 Years of Silence: Enforced Disappearances in Belarus Must Be Investigated". Amnesty International. 18 September 2015.
- ^ "World Report: Belarus: Events of 2005". Human Rights Watch.
- ^ "Court rules against Russia in Chechen killing - Europe, World - The Independent". Independent.co.uk. 6 August 2011. Archived from the original on 6 August 2011.
- ^ "Obituary: Alexander Litvinenko". BBC News. 24 November 2006. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
- ^ "UK authorities 'overlooked' evidence linking Russia to deaths on British soil". The Independent. 16 June 2017.
- ^ "Hsw".
- ^ "Opinion: A grim lesson from Ulster".
- ^ O'Duffy, Brendan; O'Leary, Brendan. "Violence in Northern Ireland, 1969-June 1989". CAIN Web Service - Conflict and Politics in Northern Ireland.
- ^ "N.Ireland police arrest 2 suspected of sectarian killing". BBC News. 25 April 1998. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
- ^ "Tit-for-tat murders in N Ireland". BBC News. 20 January 1998. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
Further reading
- "India: Torture, rape and deaths in custody". Amnesty International. 26 March 1992.
- Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (2007). Feudal Forces: Democratic Nations – Police Accountability in Commonwealth South Asia. CHRI. ISBN 978-81-88205-48-6.