Forwarded Statement

THAILAND / BURMA: Violation of the rights of the victims and alleged offenders must be stopped:The performance of the officials and media in Koh Tao murder case

Public Statement Human Rights Lawyers Association (HRLA) and Union for Civil Liberties (UCL) October15, 2014 Violation of the rights of the victims and alleged offenders must be stopped:The performance of the officials and media in Koh Tao murder case, On 15 September 2014, two tourists from UK were murdered and their bodies were left on […]

CAMBODIA: Killing of Taing Try a journalist investigating illegal wood transportation in Kratie province

A Statement from the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)   Date:                                 15 October 2014 Name:                               Taing Try Category:                          Journalist Location:                           Kratie Province Nature of threat:                Murder Brief Description: On 12 October 2014, journalist Taing Try was found dead near his car in Khsoem Khang Krao village, […]

HONG KONG: OCLP strongly condemns police use of extrajudicial punishment and demands investigation of use of excessive force against protesters

This morning, in an attempt to forcibly disperse the crowd outside the Chief Executive’s Office at Lung Wo Road and the adjacent underpass, police exercised excessive force. The most unacceptable incident was recorded by members of the media, in which several police officers took an already restrained protester to a dark corner and kicked and […]

SRI LANKA: ‘Lawyers Collective’ condemns the attack on journalist

‘Lawyers Collective’ condemns the attack on journalist Chandana Kuruppuarachchi at Haliela a few days ago. This comes in the wake of the threatening of members of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) including BASL president Upul Jayasuriya and Human Rights activists, lawyers, Namal Rajapakse and Manjula Pathirage. Details of the incidents in the public […]

SRI LANKA: Police brutality continues

‘Lawyers Collective’ condemns the killing of a suspect in police custody at Cinnamon Gardens while being taken handcuffed and the brutal attack on a girl at the Ratnapura Bus stand by a police officer in the view of the public.  These two incidents are a continuation of the trend in recent times of unarmed persons […]

HONG KONG: Statement of the Hong Kong Bar Association on the Use of Force by the Hong Kong Police at Harcourt Road on 28 September 2014

1. The Hong Kong Bar Association (“HKBA”) is deeply disturbed by, and deplores and condemns, the excessive and disproportionate use of force by the Hong Kong Police on demonstrators gathering at Harcourt Road in the afternoon of28 September 2014. 2. The circumstances in which the Hong Kong Police commenced the use of CS gas on […]

PHILIPPINES: The fifth congress of Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances

The fifth Congress of Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD), held in Manila from 22-25 September and attended by participants from ten countries – Bangladesh, Indonesia, Jammu and Kashmir in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Thailand and Timor-Leste renewed its commitment to fight against impunity and build a world without disappearances. AFAD […]

PHILIPPINES: Sharing best practices in advocating for legislation against enforced disappearances

Conference Statement September 17-20, 2014, Manila, Philippines– We, the participants in the conference on “Sharing Best Practices in Advocating for Legislation Against Enforced Disappearances” coming from organizations fromArgentina, Bangladesh, Belarus, Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Lebanon, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste and the United States of America are convened in Manila, Philippines, the […]

BANGLADESH: European Parliament adopts resolutions on Bangladesh’s human rights status

TEXTS ADOPTED Provisional edition P8_TA-PROV(2014)0024 Human rights violations in Bangladesh PE536.999 European Parliament resolution of 18 September 2014 on human rights violations in Bangladesh (2014/2834(RSP)) The European Parliament, –    having regard to its previous resolutions on Bangladesh, –    having regard to the EC-Bangladesh Cooperation Agreement of 2001, –    having regard to Articles 33 and 35 […]

THAILAND: Drop defamation case against human rights defenders in Loei

Tungkum Limited (TKL) must drop Defamation Case against two community based Human Right Defenders (HRDs) in Loei. Tungkum Limited (TKL) filed a defamation suit in Phuket provincial court against Mr. Surapan Rujichaiwat and Ms. Porntip Hongchai, two communities based Human Rights Defender (HRDs). Mr. Surapan Rujichaiwat and Ms. Porntip Hongchai received a court summons on Saturday […]

SRI LANKA: Lawyers Collective Condemns Death Threats to Attorneys Namal Rajapakshe and Manjula Pathiraja

The Lawyers Collective strongly condemns death threats to two of it’s leading members, Attorneys-at-Law, Mr. Namal Rajapakshe and Mr. Manjula Pathiraja. Mr. Rajapaske  and Pathiraja have  been  leading human rights activists and lawyers with long experience in public interest litigation. They appeared in series of sensitive cases challenging arbitrary actions of all organs of the […]

PAKISTAN: Baldia factory fire tragedy-the compensation is not the only solution to deal with such an incident

The worst ever industrial disaster in Pakistan’s history occurred on 11th September 2012 when a massive fire in the three-storied garment factory called Ali Enterprises situated in the Baldia Town area of Karachi caused the deaths of 259 workers and serious injuries to 55 more. Two years have passed since that tragic accident sent shock waves […]

MALAYSIA: We must not become an authoritarian state

A Statement from the Malaysian Bar forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) The Malaysian Bar is heavily critical of the recent spate of arrests under the Societies Act 1966 and prosecutions under the Sedition Act 1948 and Penal Code.  The raft of arrests and prosecutions of individuals lately shows that we are undergoing […]

THAILAND: Intimidation of lawyers and human rights organizations

A Statement from Thai Lawyers for Human Rights forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) The Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) in collaboration with Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF) and Amnesty International Thailand was planning to organize a presentation of report on the situation of human rights “Access to Justice in Thailand: Currently Unavailable […]

THAILAND: Judicial harassment of human rights defender

Statement on the Judicial Harassment of Leading Human Rights Defender, Ms. Pornpen Khongkachonkiet We, the undersigned civil society groups, are gravely concerned about the criminal legal action taken for defamation and libel against the Cross Cultural Foundation, headed by Ms. Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, by the Army’s Task Force 41. Ms. Pornpen, Director of the Cross Cultural […]

PAKISTAN/SRI LANKA: Inhumane and illegal deportation of asylum seekers from Sri Lanka should be stopped

A Statement from the civil society in Sri Lanka forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission As Sri Lankan citizens and Sri Lankan civil society organizations, we are appalled by the recent arrests and deportation of asylum seekers from Sri Lanka. According to the UN, 108 Pakistanis have been deported as of 14th August[i] . According […]

SOUTH KOREA: We want the truth of the Sewol Ferry Tragedy

For enquiries, please contact Ms. Gayoon Baek (sewolho416@gmail.com) For more, please visit www.facebook.com/solidarityforsewol or www.sewolho416.org/category/English. 1. Background The Sewol Ferry bound to Jeju Island from Inchon capsized on 16 April 2014 carrying 476 passengers, the majority of them students from Danwon High School. It is still unclear why the ship capsized but when it happened, […]

THAILAND: Death threat made against human rights defender in Loei

Death threats still stand and are repeated against the Wang Saphung community We, the undersigned 18 organisations, are deeply concerned about the Wang Saphung community’s situation. The death threats against 10 community members are still standing. More worryingly, we have been told by community leader MrsVironRujichaiwat – mother of a one-month old baby – that […]

PAKISTAN/Sri Lanka: UN experts alarmed at deportations of Pakistani asylum seekers without assessment

GENEVA (14 August 2014) – Two United Nations human rights experts* today expressed their grave concern at the situation of Pakistani asylum seekers in Sri Lanka who are being detained and forcefully deported to Pakistan without an adequate assessment of their asylum claims.  “States must guarantee that every single asylum claim is individually assessed with […]

SOUTH KOREA: Sewol Families Committee’s Position on the Agreement Between the Rival Parties Regarding the Special Sewol Bill

For more information or media inquiry, please contact People’s Committee for the Sewol Ferry Tragedy (Ms. Gayoon Baek, sewolho416@gmail.com, +82 (0)2 723 5051). We oppose the agreement between the rival parties that squashed the family’s requests The Sewol Families Committee held a press conference in front of the National Assembly main building today on August […]