Press Release

On December 19, 2012, the Criminal Court in Bangkok was scheduled to deliver the verdict in the case of Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, who has been charged under Article 112 of the Criminal Code.  The reading of the decision was rescheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday, January 23, 2013, at 9 am at the Criminal Court in Bangkok. The […]

(Hong Kong, January21, 2013) The Asian Human Rights Commission on Monday released a special dossier of recent cases of arrest, detention, torture and extortion carried out by Burma military and police personnel in Kachin State. The 36 cases from 2012 have all been conducted under the Unlawful Associations Act, 1908, a draconian colonial-era statute under […]

(Hong Kong, January 18, 2013) Dozens of Hong Kong-based migrant workers, including Sri Lankans; migrant and human rights groups, protested today the execution of Rizana Nafeek, a Sri Lankan maid, in Saudi Arabia. (Photos courtesy of APMM) Nafeek was executed on January 9 for the death of her employer’s child. The Government of the Kingdom […]

(Hong Kong, December 20, 2012) The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is publishing today a 24-page legal critique of two controversial decisions issued by the Supreme Court (SC), the People v. Lumanog and the Lejano v. People, in comparison to judicial decisions in common law countries. The case People v. Lumanog is about the SC’s decision affirming the conviction and sentence to […]

(Hong Kong, December 18, 2012) The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is publishing below a letter written in prison from Temogen “Cocoy” Tulawie. Tulawie is an indigenous human rights activist from Sulu, southern Mindanao, now in prison facing fabricated murder charges in Davao City. In his letter received by the AHRC, Tulawie asked that the people of […]

(Hong Kong, December 6, 2012) We are happy to announce the publication of an E-Book which is a collection of documents and articles. The motion for the impeachment of Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake has caused the most important constitutional crisis experienced in Sri Lanka in the recent decades. Please see the E-Book here. This is the […]

(Hong Kong, November 20, 2012) A prominent human rights lawyer who had lost his licence for political reasons among 32 on whose behalf the Asian Human Rights Commission has been campaigning for three years has been informed that he can now again practice law. In a letter dated November 11, the Supreme Court informed U […]

(Hong Kong, November 15, 2012) The Asian Human Rights Commission is reproducing below a copy of the letter written by the parents of a young girl who died of burn injuries to the Attorney General of Sri Lanka. In the letter the parents give details of the incident which led to the unfortunate girl’s death […]

(Hong Kong, November 14, 2012) The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has filed a petition to the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) yesterday, November 13, seeking the WGEID’s intervention in the case of disappearance of Mr. Mohammad Imam Hassan (Badal). Badal remains disappeared since the past eight months. His parents had […]

(Hong Kong, November 06, 2012) The Asian Human Rights Commission endorses the following press release and complaint to the National Human Rights Commission of India issued by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties. PUCL has lodged this complaint against the illegal arrest and detention of renowned social activist Medha Patkar, lawyer Ms. Aradhana Bhargava and […]

(Hong Kong, November 1, 2012) Janasansadaya has issued a YouTube presentation on the case of torture of Chaminda Sampath by the Bandaragama police. Chaminda says, “I was taken to the police station and kept there for seven days. I was beaten while I was hung. The police put kocchi miris (Chili) in my eyes and […]

(Hong Kong, October 31, 2012) The Asian Human Rights Commission on Wednesday called for the release on bail of the partner of a young woman who died in custody in Burma during March, and urged that a new investigation be opened into the officials responsible for her death. “According to news reports, Namase Motohiko has […]

(Hong Kong, October 18, 2012) The Court of Appeal today ordered the retrial on the case of torture of Gerald Perera. The court quashed the order of the acquittal of four of the accused, M. Suresh Gunasena, J.A. Nalin Chandimal Jayasinghe, H.A.P.D. Perera and H.M.A.K. Herath. The court upheld the acquittal of E.A.A. Tushantha and […]

(Hong Kong, October 18, 2012) The Asian Human Rights Commission on Wednesday sent a message of support to farmers and their allies gathering for a “people’s conference” to oppose land confiscation and degradation for a copper mining project. In the message to farmers and others gathering for the inaugural Letpadaung Mountain region people’s conference, the […]

(Hong Kong, October 18, 2012) – A group of United Nations independent experts on rights defenders, summary executions, freedom of expression and education today urged the Government of Pakistan to make every effort to ensure that school children, and particularly girls, are protected throughout all of Pakistan, and to ensure that extremist groups do not […]

(Hong Kong, October 17, 2012) The AHRC wishes to forward this update from Change.org on the situation of Rizana Nafeek. Subject: Update about “Stop the Execution of Rizana Nafeek in Saudi Arabia” Dear supporters of Rizana Nafeek, We now have over 3,500 signatures on this petition, but Rizana remains on death row in Saudi Arabia. […]

Sri Lankan immigrant maid sentenced to be beheaded in Saudi Arabia. A baby in her care choked to death & Rizana was accused of murder. Rizana was 17 at the time, couldn’t speak the language & had an unfair trial… The Asian Human Rights Commission is forwarding the attached online petition regarding the possibly imminent […]

(Hong Kong, October 10, 2012) The Asian Human Rights Commission today wrote a letter to Ms. Gabriella Knaul, the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers informing her of the attempted abduction and assault of Mrs. Manjula Tilakaratne, the secretary of the Judicial Service Commission of Sri Lanka. The AHRC stated that: The […]

A Joint Press Release by Odhikar and the Asian Legal Resource Centre (Hong Kong, October 10, 2012): The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) and Odhikar, a national human rights organisation based in Bangladesh, have jointly submitted a report to the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review (UN, UPR) concerning Bangladesh. Odhikar and the ALRC filed the […]

(Hong Kong & Bhopal – India, October 6, 2012) The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is certain that you are all aware of the developments in Barwani where a peaceful march by the indigenous people under the banner of Jagrit Dalit Adivasi Sangthan (JADS) was first stopped and attacked by the thugs allegedly led by the […]