Statement

During a recent visit to Uttar Pradesh, staff of the Asian Human Rights Commission came across a case that reveals the shocking extent to which the courts in India are misused by the rich and powerful, particularly against the abject poor and downtrodden.  Writ application no. 49982/2000 has been pending before the Allahabad High Court […]

The alleged abduction of three persons belonging to the Railway Workers Union who are also associated with the publication of the union’s journal, Akuna, was reported in many publications including the BBC Sinhala Service. Reporters without Borders also reported these abductions on the 6th February, 2007. The names of the three persons are Nihal Serasinghe, […]

The fifty-ninth anniversary of Sri Lanka’s Independence Day was celebrated yesterday (February 4, 2007). Democracy in Sri Lanka lasted only 30 years after independence. In 1978 an authoritarian model of government was introduced through a new constitution and under this constitution the executive president was not only above the law but even the constitution. The […]

The former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Mangala Samaraweera was quoted in several news agencies stating that a disappearance takes place in Sri Lanka every five hours. “It has been reported by local and international human rights organisations that a person is abducted every five hours. Kidnappings, abductions and killings have become common incidents. No […]

A group of soldiers took Muhamud Arming Usoh from near his home on 30 October 2006, as he returned from work at a rubber plantation. They didn’t produce any arrest warrant or evidence, or tell him where they were taking him or why. The emergency regulations in force over the southern provinces didn’t require this […]

AS-023-2007 February 2, 2007 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission PHILIPPINES: Publish report, protect witnesses & prosecute Palparan The Asian Human Rights Commission cautiously welcomes the findings of the Melo Commission that retired Major General Jovito Palparan Jr. and other military officers could be held liable for the unabated extrajudicial killings of human […]

Abdul Rehman, who was from a remote village in Kashmir, was considered missing for 52 days. It was on the 53rd day that his father, Gulam Rasool, learned that his son had been killed in what is known cynically in India as a fake encounter. This 35 year-old carpenter had been dubbed as a Pakistani […]

Indonesia signed the International Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment on the 23 October 1985 and ratified it on the 28 October I 998 by the Law No. 5/1998. Since its ratification, there have been numerous calls by the CAT Committee- for instance in its “Concluding Observations: Indonesia” (01/11/2002. […]

Recent reports on investigations into the New Year’s Eve bombings in Bangkok have revealed the extent to which the rule of law is now under threat in Thailand. While the army has announced that it will conduct its own investigations to clear military officers being investigated in connection with the attacks, the police have apparently […]

AS-019-2007 January 26, 2007 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission BANGLADESH: A nation living in fear & hope Bangladesh is in a deep political and social crisis. Its president, Professor Iazuddin Ahmed, proclaimed a state of emergency on January 11 and on the same day suspended all fundamental rights under the constitution, including […]

Tomorrow, January 26 marks the 57th year of the Indian republic. The question that will be in the mind of many this Republic Day is what has become of the “tryst with destiny” spoken of by the country’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, on the occasion of its independence just a few years earlier. After […]

The legal system in Cambodia is today rife with malicious criminal lawsuits by the rich and powerful against apparently innocent persons. The suits have variously related to political parties’ management of assets, land disputes, labour disputes, loan and service contracts, and freedom of expression. Some of those that the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has […]

According to an article in the January 20 edition of the Bangkok Post, the new director of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has committed himself to cleaning up the department, removing investigators with political connections and restoring public faith in its operations throughout Thailand. Sunai Manomai-udom has said that he aims to make the […]

Why is it that judges in Pakistan seem completely unable to apply the fundamental legal principle of habeas corpus and order police or military officers to produce detained or arrested persons in court? In the latest hearing on persons alleged to have disappeared after being detained by state officers, the Sindh High Court on January […]

A press release issued by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) on January 12 quoted Chief Superintendent Geary Barias, director of the Police Regional Office 6 as justifying the death of Hernan Baria and wounding of his companion, Romeo Catalan, on 23 July 2005 in Balasan, Iloilo on the ground of ” legitimate police operations”. Barias […]

On January 16 the government gazette of Bangladesh announced that the interim president, Professor Iazuddin Ahmed, signed into law the separation of the country’s subordinate judiciary from the executive. This extremely important action was taken, after many years of delays, in accordance with an order from the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court six days […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission is pleased to announce that we have received a letter from Mr. T.A. Mahanama Tilakaratne, Chairman of the Presidential Commission on Disappearances in response to our earlier correspondence in which we sought the assistance of the Commission in regard of the disappearance of Nishantha Chandrasiri.  Copies of our letter to […]

AS-011-2007 January 13, 2007 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission  PHILIPPINES: Police and military’s union to investigate killing a ‘systematic cover-up’ On January 10, the head of Task Force Usig, Gen. Avelino Razon Jr., announced the creation of a link with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). The police task force was […]

At 11:15pm on January 11 the president of Bangladesh, Professor Iazuddin Ahmed, publicly announced a state of emergency and ordered a curfew in response to increasingly violent conflict paralysing the country in the lead up to the general election, which has been postponed. He also announced that he has resigned from the position of chief […]

AS-009-2007 January 12, 2007 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission THAILAND: Martial law rules in constitution’s stead An article in the Bangkok Post of January 11 quoted General Sonthi Boonyaratglin as saying that martial law in Thailand, which was imposed on September 19 when he seized power, has never been partially lifted as […]