Statement

A man, who alleged that he was severely beaten up by the police after he refused to pay a bribe of three valuable gems, was granted leave to proceed in a fundamental rights application by the Supreme Court. He complained that his rights guaranteed under the Constitution to be protected from illegal arrest, illegal detention […]

From March 18 to 22, seven alleged criminals were killed, including a 16-year-old boy, in separate shooting incidents reportedly perpetrated by men riding on motorcycles in General Santos City. The police and the city’s mayor quickly announced that the killings could have been the result of a conflict within the group of criminals themselves given […]

“Except for the crime in question, Mr. R. K. Sharma was an asset to the nation…” The national media in India reported that this observation was made by the Additional Sessions Judge Mr. Rajendra Kumar Shastri on 18 March 2008 while delivering his judgment in the Shivani Bhatnagar murder case. Justice Shastri was the trial […]

In one of his two latest reports to the UN Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar (Burma) has written that: “The Special Rapporteur is seriously concerned at the continued misuse of the legal system [in Burma] which denies the rule of law and represents a major obstacle to securing the effective and meaningful […]

The relatives of disappeared and missing persons in Pakistan will observe the Day of Missing People on March 23, 2008, a national day in commemoration of a Pakistani resolution adopted in 1940 in the united India. On this day the relatives persons will hold protests with the photographs of the missing persons, hold seminars and […]

A few suggestions to remove ambiguities from the AHRC History is being made in the National Assembly of Pakistan. The Speaker was elected and the debates have already begun. True to the pledge given to the voters to restore the chief justice and all the other judges who were ousted, a resolution has already been […]

In 1991, a law creating the People’s Law Enforcement Board (Pleb), an external disciplining mechanism of policemen, was enacted. Its board members, who have the power to conduct summary hearings of cases of administrative complaints against policemen, are all civilians. The board’s composition was deliberately devised to empower civilians to become involved in disciplining members […]

A young woman of 18 years was abducted and gang raped continuously over a period of three days by the guards employed at the mausoleum of Mr. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the Father of the Nation, known as “Mazar e Quide”. A guard has been arrested without proper identification as the victim is still semi-conscious. This […]

Following a spate of well-orchestrated attacks on individuals, properties, mosques and schools of the Ahmadiah sect, and demands by several Islamic organizations to the President of Indonesia to have it banned, Ahmadiahan leaders issued a statement containing “12 points of explanations”. The 12 points included among other matters, an acknowledgment of Prophet Muhammad as the […]

The last few days saw developments in trade union protests against the attacks on employees of the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC). Ever since the incident that was provoked by Minister Mervyn Silva’s attack on some employees of the SLRC many attacks have been made on persons who participated in the protesting against the minister’s […]

The taking of oaths by members of parliament on March 17th marks an important moment in the struggle against the military dictatorship which has caused a state of anarchy in Pakistan. Legally speaking, there is now a parliament to give leadership to the people and to make the necessary decisions in order to achieve stability […]

The police in Davao City arrested three men suspected of robbery and a few days later, on March 14, they were presented to the city’s mayor, Rodrigo Duterte in the presence of the local press and television crews. The suspects, their faces exposed to the cameras were dressed in the orange shirts worn by convicts […]

On 13 March, the Bangladesh Government’s spokespersons made their official comments on the human rights report published by the Department of State of the government of the United States of America. The Bangladesh authorities’ reaction was published in most of the national daily newspapers the following day. According to a report which appeared in The Daily […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) calls upon the Chinese government to inquire into reports that have received worldwide attention of attacks against Tibetan protesters in Lhasa and Sangchu County and other places by the Chinese security forces and to take steps to stop the use of force against the protesters. The exercise of restraint […]

A media report implies serious questions about the credibility of Bangladesh’s criminal justice system, including the investigation, prosecution and the judiciary, as well as the qualifications of the concerned professionals in those institutions. A Dhaka based national daily newspaper, The Prothom Alo, reported on 13 March 2008 that a court convicted three persons to rigorous imprisonment […]

In the investigations into cases of killings and suspicious deaths, skills and training are extremely essential in dealing with the investigation. Forensic examinations are carried out not only to establish the cause of the victim’s death but also, in the case of a murder, to collect sufficient evidence for effective prosecution in court. It is […]

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food in his report to the Seventh UN Human Rights Council has expressed serious concerns regarding the right to food in India. The report dated February 29, 2008 has sited at least a dozen cases concerning the right to food in which the Rapporteur has requested the immediate attention […]

If you are planning for one year, plant rice If you are planning for twenty years, plant trees If you are planning for one hundred years, plant people.” – Chinese proverb It has been reported that the Tanjung Priok district administration is planning to evict 1,200 families from Kampung Bayam where the people had occupied […]

As the Human Rights Council meeting was in session the spokesmen for the Sri Lankan government have been quite busy, judging by the number of statements circulated through the internet that are trying to paint a picture of Sri Lanka as a great democracy and that all the critics of the government are agents of […]

On April 2006, labour activist Gerardo Cristobal first survived an attempt on his life by armed men who were later identified to be a policeman and members of security forces in Imus, Cavite. Not entirely unexpectedly the policemen investigating the case (who were attached to the same police station where Gerardo’s attackers were assigned) concluded […]