Statement

(The case of a teenage girl facing the death sentence in Saudi Arabia as the result of a tragedy being misunderstood as a crime) The Asian Human Rights Commission is writing this appeal to all the Muslim scholars in the world regarding the case that the AHRC believes deserves of all Muslim scholars. This is […]

A memorial service was held in Colombo on July 4, to remember the Red Cross Workers who were abducted from Colombo and killed just a month ago. One of the topics discussed by the participants at this ceremony was the promise given by President Mahinda Rajapakse to intensify the inquiries with a deadline for the […]

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has denied voting rights to 38 million people for the upcoming November 2007 elections. Most of the persons who have been are women.  In the previous elections, held in 2002, 71.86 million people were registered as voters. However, in contrast, the ECP has issued a list of only 56 […]

On June 16, 2007, Venerable Buddhist Clergy Director Nun Nget wrote a letter to Supreme Buddhist Patirarch Tep Vong to seek his approval for the defrocking of Venerable Tim Sakhorn, who was officially appointed head monk of North Phnom Den monastery, Phnom Den commune, Kirivong District, Takeo province, in May 2002. Ven. Nun Nget claimed […]

The Government of Kerala has initiated actions to setup a Police Complaints Authority in the state. The authority is expected to deal with complaints by and against the state police. The authority has been formed in accordance with the Kerala Police Act (Amendment) Ordinance, 2007 issued by the state government on February 12, 2007. The authority has […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned by the decision taken by the Government of Nepal on June 21, 2007 to form a ‘High Level Probe Commission on Disappeared Persons’ under the chairmanship of former-Supreme Court Justice Narendra Bahadur Neupane, as the establishment of this commission is in contradiction to the directives contained […]

Third session on the Charter on the rule of law: The elimination of court delays to enable effective prevention of gross human This meeting will be held in Hong Kong from 16 to 22 September, 2007 The AHRC announced the launching of discussions with a view to develop an Asian Charter on the Rule of […]

Mr. A. K. Antony, the Defense Minister of India is an exception as a politician. Antony has an impeccable record of being honest. Antony is from the state of Kerala where he is often referred to as the ‘saint’. But it appears that he has left his honesty back home in Kerala, when he took […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AS-147-2007 June 28, 2007 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission SRI LANKA: AG’s reply to IIGEP; Kafkan metamorphosis of the Attorney General’s role – Part Two (The first part of this statement appeared June 27, 2007 which you may find at: http://www.ahrchk.net/statements/mainfile.php/2007statements/1094/) Witness protection – conflicting policies – declarations of Draft […]

Ever conscious of the fact the entire world is watching Sri Lanka’s ongoing human rights crisis President Mahinda Rajapakse and his government are making comments and promises they do not appear to be either willing or capable of keeping. In the first week of June the bodies of two Red Cross workers were found in […]

A 16-year-old girl, who was gang raped by 11 persons, has been thrown out of her safe house by officials of the Sindh police, Pakistan. On Sunday, June 24, 2007 Mr. Rana Pervez, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Police Headquarters along with Station Head Officer (SHO) of Garden police station and other police officials, […]

Lawyers, protesting against the suspension of the Chief Justice, held a mock funeral ceremony for the notorious “Doctrine of Necessity” on June 26, 2007, at the Lahore High Court Bar Association’s office. At this ceremony the lawyers pledged that they will not let the Doctrine of Necessity take root in country’s political system and allow […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AS-143-2007 June 27, 2007 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission SRI LANKA: AG’s reply to IIGEP; Kafkan metamorphosis of the Attorney General’s role The Attorney General C.R. de Silva (AG) issued a letter dated June 18, 2007 to the Chairman of the International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP) retaliating […]

On June 15, yet more civilians were killed when a person carrying an improvised explosive device (IED) left it to explode in a bus in a crowded public terminal in Bansalan, Davao del Sur. The explosion was so strong that it rocked the place, killed two persons instantly and wounded others; some died later in […]

A recording and transcripts of a conversation have been made available online which if true expose the extent to which Thailand’s senior judiciary is compromised and controlled by outsiders, and what a long road it will be to restoring any notion of the rule of law there. The recording, released by a spokesperson of the […]

They heard the thud of wood on flesh. Boot on bone. On teeth. The muffled grunt when a stomach is kicked in. The muted crunch of skull on cement. The gurgle of blood on a man’s breath when his lung is torn by the jagged end of a broken rib. Blue-lipped and dinner-plate-eyed, they watched, […]

(We produce here a news item published in the Sunday Times, June 24, 2007 ‘CJ off to HK despite protests’ which was a completely fabricated story). We also reproduce below a copy of a letter written to the Editor, Sinha Ratnatunga, by the Asian Human Rights Commission denying this story and seeking a correction. CJ […]

The Prime Minister of India declared in a public speech early this year that India would soon ratify the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Since then, nothing has been heard about India’s preparation to ratify this convention. Instances of custodial torture in the meanwhile are reported […]

Pakistan is a country where even Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the apex court, is not spared physical and mental torture by the country’s law enforcement agencies.  Mr. Iftekhar Choudhary, the Chief Justice of Pakistan, was abused and tortured twice by law enforcement agencies, once in Islamabad (capital of Pakistan) and once in Karachi […]

Bangladesh has been a sitting member of the UN Human Rights Council since 9 May 2006, and has passed more than a year in the world’s top human rights forum. Before being elected to the Council Bangladesh placed its candidature among an overcrowded list of voluntary pledges. The country affirmed its “deep commitment to the […]