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The government of Pakistan has entered into an unconstitutional agreement with the Islamic militants operating in the country to implement an Islamic code of practice, the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation (NAR), through a resolution passed in the national assembly on April 14, 2009. The President signed the resolution immediately. The resolution, passed without any debate in the […]
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) are very concerned that, on 3 April, the Office of the Co-Investigating Judges (OCIJ) at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), otherwise known as the Khmer Rouge Tribunal (KRT), rejected a request by the defence seeking disclosure of […]
The Asian Human Rights Commission believes that the life of Balochi lawyer, Mr. Kachkol Ali is in danger, after he witnessed the abduction of three clients, shortly before they were found murdered in Balochistan province. Although the captors wore plain clothes, various signs suggest that they were from Pakistans military intelligence agencies. Please see our […]
Three Baloch nationalist leaders were killed after their abduction by plain clothes persons in mysterious vehicles that bore no registration plates. They were taken from the chambers of a prominent lawyer and their deaths have raised several questions on the role of state spy agencies, particularly about military intelligence (MI). All three murdered persons, Ghulam […]
As Indonesia takes part in its third parliamentary election under a new order regime, one might be tempted to see it emerging as a modern, democratic state that has overcome its atrocious decades of military rule. But appearances here are deceiving. In 1998 the country started to establish the rule of law and build a […]
The report from Nepal, where a mob led by the Maoist cadres, in the past two days, interfering and preventing the court proceedings at Surkhet district is one more incident that highlights the wrong direction in which the country is headed. Parbati Thapa and Sumitra Tamata, two leaders of the All Nepal Women’s Organisation (Revolutionary), […]
Five media organisations in Sri Lanka issuing an investigative report entitled, ‘The Resurgence of Terror and the paramilitary forces in Sri Lanka,’ stated that covert operations are carried out by paramilitary groups that have the patronage of an ultra-powerful authority in carrying out terror operations. The report referred mainly to attacks on many journalists, including […]
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned by the unilateral declaration of Abdusakur M. Tan, governor of Sulu province in Mindanao, placing the entire province under a ‘State of Emergency’; and urges the latter to immediately lift the declaration as it is devoid of any legal basis and fails to meet fundamental conditions […]
Cambodia has abandoned communist rule to supposedly embrace pluralism and liberal democracy for nearly twenty years. Yet it is still saddled with many communist legacies which have stunted its democratic development. One of such legacies is the staffing of all public institutions from top to bottom, down to the village level, by members of the […]
In the immediate period leading to the trial of Khmer Rouge Prison Chief Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, on 30 March, there was a disagreement between the international and the national co-prosecutors of the Cambodian UN-assisted Khmer Rouge Tribunal (KRT) over the prosecution of more Khmer Rouge leaders in addition to the five who have […]
The Internet-broadcasted public flogging of a young girl by Taliban members in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) has enraged sections of Pakistan society, and given a taste of the newly-brokered brand of religious justice in Swat. The beating has refreshed debates on religion-backed violence against women in the country, but equally as disturbing, is […]
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) calls upon the Sri Lankan government to immediately release Mr Santha Fernando, secretary for justice and peace in the National Christian Council of Sri Lanka and long-time staff member of the international YMCA. Fernando is a well known personality in Sri Lanka, in the Christian community and among other […]
India will hold general elections for the 15th Lok Sabha in April. Lok Sabha, meaning ‘house of the people’, is the directly elected, lower house of the Indian parliament. Under the prevailing circumstances it is impossible for a political party to succeed in the general elections to claim absolute majority in the parliament and thus to form a […]
On 27 March, the Mathara High Court sentenced former magistrate, Ms. Shyamini Mihinchiarachchi, to 45 years imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 60,000 (USD 600) on charges of entering false information in court documents pertaining to fines; fraud and soliciting bribes. The court charged Mihinchiarachchi for these offences while she was serving as a magistrate […]
As the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) welcomes the investigation that the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is conducting into ‘vigilante killings’ in Davao City, it holds reservations as to how it will pursue the inquiry. It should not only be just another investigation, but rather adequate and effective so that it will be able […]
The attitude of a Pakistani judge toward a teenage gang rape victim has caused widespread outrage, throwing the training of the country’s judicial figures into question. On March 25, 2008, additional district and sessions judge Nizar Ali Khawaja conducted the trial of four men who allegedly gang-raped 13-year-old Ms Kainat Soomro in 2007, over a […]
We are forwarding the text of a letter written by Sonali Wickrematunge, the widow of Lasantha Wickrematunge, a well known journalist and the editor of the Sunday Leader newspaper who was assassinated on the 8th January 2009. The letter is reproduced from Ground Views and the original article may be found at http://www.groundviews.org/2009/03/26/is-the-president-hiding-lasantha-wickremetunges-killers/ Sonali Samarasinghe Wickrematunge […]
A Canadian freelance journalist and her two Pakistani assistants were abducted by agents reportedly working for Taliban commander, Gul Bahadur, from Pakistans Northwest Frontier Province in November, 2008. Her abductors have demanded US$375,000 by March 31 to secure her release, otherwise they claim she will be killed. Khadija Abdul Qahaar, 52, who was known as […]
India is the highest Tuberculosis burdened country in the world accounting for one fifth of the global incidence of the dreadful disease. It has remained so for the past three years. This is according to the report published by the Central TB Division functioning under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Ever since German […]
In February the US State Department released its 2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. The report on human rights in Cambodia stated that the governments human rights record remained poor and detailed a long list of human rights abuses including extrajudicial killings by security forces, abuse of detainees, arbitrary arrests, land grabbing and forced […]
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