Statement

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 […]

At a school inauguration ceremony on January 5 at Kompong Cham province, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen issued a stern warning to all political parties against criticising their competitors in order to win votes in the upcoming April 1 commune elections. He urged them to adopt a commercial advertisement style, extolling one’s own goods or […]

On January 10, 2007, workers of a Korean-owned factory, who have been on strike since September 25, 2006, were forced to appear in court to submit their defence in response to the charges of libel the policemen filed against them. The policemen attached to the Rosario municipal police station in Cavite arbitrarily filed libel charges […]

The judiciary of Pakistan has abdicated their duty to protect the citizens of the country by their blatant and open failure to handle cases of disappearances thereby providing the secret agencies of the Pakistan Army all the time they require to illegally detain people in torture camps. The higher judiciary of Pakistan is claiming that […]

We reproduce below the email reply from Ms. Dilruskshi Handunnetti, the Sunday leader journalist who made several allegations against the AHRC in her article entitled ‘Targeting CBK and LTTE’s southern gift’.  We have earlier shared our replies to these letters.  Kindly see AHRC-OL-001-2007, AS-001-2007 and AHRC-OL-002-2007. We reproduce below the email sent by Ms. Handunnetti today (as received) and […]

Mr. Salim Baloch, a political leader of the southern province of Balochistan was rearrested by secret service personnels after recording a statement in the Sindh High Court on 31 December 2006, in which he gave details about his nine months of captivity in different military camps and the severe physical and mental torture that, amongst […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission wishes to forward by way of this statement, a report sent to President Rajapaksa by the Bishop of Mannar on the killing of innocent civilians in an aerial bombardment carried out by the Sri Lankan Air Force. Please find a copy of my report to the H.E.President on the brutal […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission condemns as an act that demonstrates the failure of the international community to deal with dictators within the framework of law, while not deviating from international norms and standards. The fact that the United States of America and the United Kingdom supported this act is a sad reflection on the […]