Statement

Mr. I. G. Pushpakumara (30) a navy officer said to be assigned to VIP security who was on home leave was beaten to death by a mob who believed that he was trying to escape after committing the theft of a mobile phone. When a crowd chased this navy officer, as some people shouted ‘thief’ […]

The Supreme Court of Pakistan made an order yesterday (May 7) suspending the judicial panel hearing into the accusation made by the military regime against the country’s suspended Chief Justice Mr. Iftekhar Chaudhary, pending a decision on a challenge to the panel filed on his behalf. The Chief Justice has challenged the decision of the […]

As the country’s prosecution service has long been confronted by the overloading of cases, as well as insufficient resources and manpower, the police commission and justice department have decided to give powers to the Chiefs of Police (CoPs) to act as prosecutors. Under this system, the CoPs are required to first secure permission from any […]

AS-093-2007 May 3, 2007 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission CAMBODIA: Dysfunctional criminal justice system has led to unfair trials and impunity for the mastermind behind Chea Vichea’s murder In August 2005, the Phnom Penh Court convicted and sentenced two men — Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun — to 20 years in […]

As the campaign period is ongoing and elections will be held on May 14 there is also an increasingly alarming trend of election-related violence. Targeted killings and ambushes of sectoral and local candidates, either a result of fierce political rivalry or threats, had since been taking place–a cycle of violence that has become a subconsciously […]

The government of Punjab province, no doubt through the instructions of the government of the military regime of General Musharaff, is using some flimsy excuses to thwart the traveling arrangements of the Chief Justice Mr. Iftikhar Chaudhry.  Mr. Chaudry is planning to travel by road from Rawalpindi to Lahore city, a distance of 260 kilometers, […]

In the latest move against the supporters of Chief Justice Iftehkar Chaudry a Supreme Court lawyer, Mr. Ali Ahmed Kurd has been detained by the Quetta police at the district court. The detention comes after several attempts by unknown persons to abduct him failed. However, this effort by the government was aborted by the lawyers […]

A legal professional is not above the law. A solicitor in Hong Kong was sentenced to imprisonment recently. It was alleged that the solicitor’s client who had lodged a complaint about a stockbroker had been persuaded by the solicitor to withdraw the charges as the solicitor was allegedly involved with the stockbroker. A rather similar […]

Shocking details are emerging about the manner in which the Chief Justice, Iftikhar Chaudry, was requested to resign from his post, and how when he refused he was physically restrained form leaving the President’s Camp Office for several hours and finally as to how a reference was cooked up and filed in order to prevent […]

The government has recently announced that police powers will be granted to the military by way of further emergency regulations. When the BBC Sinhala Service questioned the government spokesman, Minister Keheliya Rambukawella, as to whether the giving of police powers to the military will not result in the re-emergence of torture chambers inside military camps […]

In the midst of the judicial crisis the government has opened yet another front in the hopes of exercising damage control in an attack on a television station that has been airing open discussions on the latest developments with regard to the political situation and also the judicial crisis. For the past several weeks the […]

Over two and a half years have passed since Kietisak Thitboonkrong was found tortured to death and dumped in a rural area of northeastern Thailand. Investigations by the National Human Rights Commission and others have pointed the finger of guilt straight at the Kalasin district police, in whose custody he was last seen a few […]

The grave problems regarding the lack of credible investigations into human rights violations in Sri Lanka continues as the government makes threats to expel foreign diplomats who call for such inquiries as persons meddling in the internal affairs of the country. Whether the government itself has caused such violations is not the issue. The key […]

The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has warned that General Musharaff appears to be trying to ‘drive the country towards civil war just to perpetuate his rule.’ Referring to certain incidents of violent confrontations the SCBA said that this was ‘an attempt by the general to create chaos in the country, resulting in civil war […]

The issue of enforced disappearances is among the highlighted topics of the discussion of human rights abuses in Sri Lanka. While about 1,000 disappearances were reported in 2006, already by April, 2007 around 300 cases have been cited. A situation of this magnitude has found some response from the United States where Ambassador Richard Boucher, […]

On March 3 2007 Prime Minister Hun Sen received from his party, the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), full power to eradicate the land grabbing that has been plaguing the country for many years. With this full support, Hun Sen set out to wage “a war against land grabbers” whom he has identified as “CPP officials” […]

Monoranjan Ghosh, a resident of Gopalpur village in South 24 Parganas District of West Bengal, was threatened by a money-extorting gang at least half a dozen times. Monoranjan was assaulted several times and had to be hospitalised once. His family and the entire village were threatened by the members of the gang. On each occasion, […]

A radical mosque and its affiliated seminaries have greatly increased their influence in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan after the mass protests throughout the country against President Musharraf’s action against the chief justice, Justice Iftekhar Choudry. The male and female students and leaders of Lal mosque and its affiliated seminaries, Hafsa and Fridia, are […]

In response to the shooting of a group of youths in the south of Thailand on April 9, an army officer has been quoted as saying that the armed militia personnel were justified to fire in self defence. Two young men and two boys died and a number of others were wounded when Village Defence […]

On April 9 the King of Thailand called upon a new group of superior judges to ensure that they “maintain justice”. The King pointed out that more than ever public confidence in the judiciary depends upon them. They are vital to the peace and survival of the country, he said; their task is not easy, […]