Statement

In May of this year a Jirga, an illegal tribal court, was held against a girl of 17 years in which she was declared as Kari (having had an illicit relationship with someone). This was done, according to the tribal traditions, to justify her earlier murder by members of her own family. The Jirga was […]

Several months ago eight women, three of them minors, were buried alive in Balochistan, reportedly by the same men. Those responsible have close ties to the provincial government and to the police, and investigations into the case have gone through a Kafkan array of delays and setbacks. For information on these cases please refer to: AHRC-UAC-182-2008 and AHRC-STM-234-2008. […]

The success of the first phase of Chandrayann-1, undertaken on Tuesday, 21 October 2008, entitles India to claim membership in the elite club of countries that have proved their technological and financial capabilities in sending a mission to the moon.  According to the Indian government, the project that is estimated to have cost 78 million […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  AHRC-STM-271-2008 October 22, 2008 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission SOUTH KOREA: Time to define ‘torture’ in Penal Code Whenever being asked by the Committee Against Torture (CAT) and the Human Rights Committee (HRC) about the lack of definition of torture in the domestic law, the representatives of South Korea […]

Yesterday an announcement was received by registrars of all courts and a number of human rights lawyers by a group that calls itself the Mahason Balakaya (Mahason Battalion). The notice threatens death or other serious physical harm to any lawyers who appear for any suspected terrorist in any court in Sri Lanka. The lawyers who […]

In Sri Lanka the legal profession is very much a threatened profession. The recent grenade attack on September 27 on the residence of senior lawyer, Mr. J.C. Weliamuna, once again brought to the notice of everyone how much the profession has been undermined and how easy it is to attack lawyers. Almost a month has […]

The Faculty of Law was established 60 years ago to enhance the legal education in Sri Lanka as such education was to provide the qualified persons to run the institutions in the country within the framework of the rule of law. There was agreement then that the constitutional and the legal framework of the country […]

“Man arrested by the police yesterday was found dead today”, was the heading of a news item yesterday in a well known Sri Lankan newspaper. Such a report of custodial deaths is so common that the news item would have provoked little surprise. Deaths in police custody have become a triviality. News about torture in […]

The only way to prevent the three convicted Sri Lankans in Saudi Arabia from facing public execution by beheading is to lodge an appeal within 30 days from the date of conviction and this can only be done if the Sri Lankan government provides legal fees for lodging appeals on their behalf through the Sri […]

The Negombo High Court last week acquitted the accused in a torture case where a Sub Inspector of Police was charged with an offense under the CAT Act (Act No. 22 of 1994) punishable with seven years of rigorous imprisonment. As the basis of acquittal the court stated in the written judgement, “If the suspect was […]

The deliberations of senior Indian politicians during the National Integration Council Meeting held in New Delhi on 13 October contradict India’s positions in international forums like the UN. The council of ministers who met in New Delhi this week resolved that the country will protect, at all costs, the foundations of secularism, equality, social, economic […]

The media reports alleging that it is in fact a military officer who decides the case lists in the Supreme Court of Bangladesh is a shocking revelation which sharply brings to light the militarised political context in the country. Barrister Rafique-ul Haque who is defending two former prime ministers of Bangladesh in graft cases revealed […]

The High Court judge of Negombo has acquitted the accused in the torture case of Lalith Rajapakse stating that the brain injury that the torture victim claimed due to assaults inside the Kandana Police Station was due to the victim catching encephalitis whilst at the station rather than being due to injuries caused by torture. […]

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 […]