Statement

In the most significant blow dealt by the Supreme Court against the system of the executive presidency introduced by the 1978 Constitution, yesterday (October 8, 2008), a former president of Sri Lanka, Chandrika Kumaratunga Bandaranaike, was held to be liable for a corrupt deal relating to her abuse of power in the transfer of valuable […]

On the occasion of the World Day against the Death Penalty, the Asian Human Rights Commission wishes to thank and congratulate the federal government of Pakistan for stepping in at the eleventh hour to stay the execution of condemned prisoner Zulfiqar Ali, son of Rasheed Khan, despite the president’s earlier refusal to do so. Had […]

The father of two young girls will be hanged in the early hours of October 8, 2008 at Adiala jail after being convicted on a charge of murder on April 14, 1998. Mr. Zulfiqar Ali, the condemned prisoner, has two daughters namely, Ms, Noor Fatima, age 11 years and Fiza Ali, age 10 years, after […]

To the recipients of communications through the AHRC network, Rizana Nafeek is a familiar name. The 17-year-old girl from a poor family from a conflict ridden area with a passport indicating her age as 18 arrived in Saudi Arabia as a domestic helper. Within two weeks this young girl was accused of the murder of […]

According to information issued by the Ambassador for Pakistan in the United States Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, who was missing along with her three children since March 2003 and arrested by American military personnel in Afghanistan on July 16, 2008, was removed from the New York prison where she was being detained to a facility in […]

A statement by army commander Lt. General Fonseka published in the National Post in Canada, saying that “I strongly believe that this country belongs to the Sinhalese, but there are minority communities and we treat them like our people,” has led to many comments by various groups who have pointed out that this undermines the […]

Dr. W.D.L. Indunil, a young lady doctor attached to Bandagiriya Central Dispensary in the southern Hambanthota district, was shot dead on the 29th of September, allegedly by an army officer. Dr. Indunil complained a year ago against an army officer for criminal assault. A case filed on this assault is still pending. According to the […]

Yesterday (September 30, 2008) at 1:30 pm an unknown person tried to enter the premises of Transparency International (TI) Sri Lanka at the address 28/1 Bullers Lane, Colombo. The TI officers obstructed him and closed the gates, preventing the person from entering the premises. Then, a person on a motorcycle arrived and whisked away this […]

There is no universally agreed definition for the term terrorism. In the absence of a common definition, particularly when the argument – one state’s ‘terrorist’ is another state’s ‘freedom fighter’ – holds good in the current day world order, often attempting to define the word ‘terrorism’ and an act as ‘terrorist activity’ invites criticism. However, […]

All eyes have now turned to the Bar Association of Sri Lanka as to how effective their actions will be in the aftermath of a grenade attack on the house of a senior lawyer, Mr. J.C. Weliamuna, on night of Saturday, 27th September. The Asian Human Rights Commission was able to talk to many lawyers […]

We reproduce below the text and title of a letter sent today by the AHRC to the High Court, the district court judge and the magistrates of Negombo September 26, 2008 Dear Sir/Madam Re: Letter to Judges of the Negombo area regarding killings and death threats to complainants and witnesses in torture cases and threats […]

Sugath Nishanta Fernando assassinated 20th September 2008 Gerard Perera assassinated 24th November 2004 Killing a person in Sri Lanka has become as easy as a child bursting a balloon. The inquest inquiry before the Negombo High Court regarding the assassination of Sugath Nishanta Fernando revealed details of how two persons riding on a motor bike […]

The report released by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) on September 19 after its suo motu inquiry lasting two months into the alleged human rights violations of young men conscripted as auxiliary police and battle police reveals how these young men have been exploited and ill-treated by the current conscription system. According to the […]

The alleged US arrest in July of Pakistan-US national Dr Aafia Siddiqui has left a series of unanswered questions about her missing children. With Dr Siddiqui now in US custody it is suspected that two of her children are still being detained illegally, and reports suggest that one child may have died. U.S. and Pakistan […]

On the 20th September Sugath Nishanta Fernando, of Negombo who was the complainant in a bribery case and a torture case in which the allegations were against several police officers of the Negombo area, was assassinated. The family has very clearly stated that they suspect no one else for this murder except the police officers […]

Prompt enquiries from a competent and independent special police unit needs to be conducted into to the assassination of Siyaguna Kosgodage Anton Sugath Nishantha Fernando, who was a complainant in a torture case before of the Supreme Court and a bribery case before the High Court against several police officers attached to the Negombo Police […]

The Supreme Court of Nepal, during an emergency five-hour hearing of the full court on September 19, retaliated against the president of the Nepal Bar Association (NBA), Bishwa Kant Mainali, and his remarks two days earlier against the legal malady of judicial corruption in the country. In reaction to his statement that, in effect, asserted […]

The ongoing violence in Orissa, India, reflects the current status of the rule of law in that state. The violent incidents that devastated the thin line of communal harmony in the state are the result of an intentional state policy of promoting vested religious interests. This ulterior motive to attain short-term political gains through unconstitutional […]

The government of Pakistan has not held the presenter of a popular TV program on Geo TV, accountable for stoking the already-prevalent religious hatred of Pakistan’s beleaguered Ahmadi minority, on 7 September, 2008. Anchor person Dr Amir Liaquat Hussain declared, on air, the murder of Ahmadi sect members to be the religious duty of devout […]

The protest made by Prof. Yash Ghai in his written statement to the 9th Session of the UN Human Rights Council is an eye-opener. He speaks of the failure of the Cambodian government to cooperate with his mandate, and instead rudely insult him. His comments demonstrate the very serious decline in the cooperation of a […]