This week’s episode begins with the murder in Nepal of 18-year-old Ajit Mijar. Ajit married his non Dalit girlfriend Kalpana Parajuli on July 9, and the couple were forcibly separated by police and Kalpana’s family on July 11. On July 14, Ajit was found hanging near Phurke Khola, Dhading district. To learn more, Just Asia spoke to a relative of Ajit, as well as to Member Secretary of the National Dalit Commission (NDC), Sitaram Ghale.
Next, young Chinese activist Zhao Wei remains missing despite police claims she had been freed from detention. Zhao was taken into secret detention in July 2015. Speaking to Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, Zhao claimed she had returned to her family home in Henan province. Her husband found her family home deserted however, while neighbours claimed no one had been home for quite some time.
In Indonesia, police officers surrounded and forcibly closed the Papuan student dormitory in Kamasan I, Jalan Kusumanegara, Yogyakarta province since July 15, with some 100 students trapped inside. The Papuan students had planned to hold a peaceful public protest, but were instead confronted by members of a few mass organizations, shouting racist slogans such as “monkeys and separatists must leave Yogyakarta province”. They also assaulted the students, while the police looked on indifferently. To learn more, Just Asia speaks to rights defender Bernard Agapa.
A Dalit gang rape survivor in India has allegedly been raped again by the same five men accused of raping her earlier. The assault took place in Rohtak, Haryana, where the family was forced to move after the first attack. The young woman was reportedly waylaid by the accused when she stepped out of her college, raped, and left to die in the bushes. She is current recuperating at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Rohtak.
In Thailand, following the National Council for Peace and Order’s announcement of a Constitutional Referendum on August 7, both pro-and anti- draft constitution groups have been focused on conveying their messages to the public. The NCPO however, is using Order no.3/2015 to restrict anti-draft groups from expressing their views. As of July 2015, 113 people have been prosecuted for publicly opposing the draft constitution. Just Asia caught up with xx to learn more.
On June 21, the Asian Legal Resource Centre held a side event at the UN Human Rights Council building in Geneva, on enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Pakistan. The speakers at the event were experts and prominent activists working on the issue of enforced disappearances.
Finally, the Urgent Appeals Weekly features three stories from India, Pakistan and Indonesia.
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