Statement

The Asian Human Rights Commission condemns the detention of ASM Nasiruddin Elan and demands his immediate release. Mr. ASM Nasiruddin Elan, Director of Bangladeshi human rights organization, Odhikar, has been detained in prison by the Cyber Crimes Tribunal of Dhaka, today, November 6, 2013. This detention is part of the continued repression against the whistle-blowers […]

In July 2013, public prosecutors in General Santos City wrote to the Supreme Court asking for the transfer of the venue of a murder trial. The trial concerns two persons described as “suspected terrorists and members of the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front” (MILF), “to any venue in Metro-Manila, where the atmosphere […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) would like to express grave concern about the current state of the draft amnesty bill in Thailand. The draft amnesty bill (in full, the Draft Amnesty for Those Who Committed Offences as a Result of the Political Protests and Political Expression of the People B.E…..) is broad, vague, and […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission has learned from the wife of D.A. Ruwan Kumara (27) that he has been taken into police custody by officers of the Bandaragama Police Station and is being tortured. The wife, Chinthini Nadeesa and Ruwan Kumara’s brother have visited him at the police station and have seen him being tortured […]

Mr. Bashir Ahmad Kiyani (70), was murdered as a result of religious hatred in Karachi. He was shot dead while on his way to Friday Prayer Services at the nearby Mosque in Korangi, Karachi. In the last three months both Mr. Kiyani’s son and son-in-law were also killed by Muslim fundamentalists. According to the details […]

On 27 October, about 400 persons from the north and south, most of whom are family members of disappeared persons, gathered at the Monument for the Disappeared at Raddaluwa, Seeduwa. Like the gatherings in previous years, this year’s too was a very sad spectacle to watch. Several of the persons carried flowers or a candle […]

Between 314 and 544 persons have been executed in Iran in 2013 alone 16 Baloch political prisoners were executed in Iran in an act of revenge for an attack on the border security forces. The executed Balochis were already in Zahedan prison and took no part in the attack. It was alleged that the Baloch […]

Civil society must join the peaceful long march in solidarity with the relatives of disappeared persons and provide all possible assistance to the marchers The relatives of missing persons from Balochistan started a 730 kilometre peaceful long march for the recovery of disappeared persons. The participants assembled and started their march from the Quetta Press […]

It is alleged that the ‘No-Union Policy’ has been the management principle of the Samsung group since it was established 75 years ago. This policy has allegedly been perpetrated and has subsequently become public knowledge. According to the information received, a lawmaker disclosed a document (called, “2012 S group’s labour and management strategy” in Korean, personal information in […]

September turned out to be the deadliest month so far this year. The total number of casualties during September touched amounted to 1048 persons with 493 being killed and 555 injured; an increase of 35% over the 744 casualties in August. More than 50% of all the total casualties were killed or injured during the […]

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission ASIA: Watershed legislation criminalising torture & custodial violence enacted in Bangladesh The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) congratulates the people of Bangladesh for the enactment of the Torture and Custodial Death (Prohibition) Act, 2013. The Jatiyo Shangsad (National Parliament) enacted the draft law, the Torture and Custodial Death (Prohibition) Bill, […]

It should not have taken a Supreme Court order for the Indian government to know that it cannot turn its citizenry into guinea pigs for private companies. This is one of the very basic duties, the raison d’être in fact, of a government bound to protect the lives and dignity of its citizens. Sadly, the […]

The government of Pakistan has – within a short period of less than two weeks – promulgated two draconian laws, ostensibly, to combat terrorism. The first ordinance was promulgated on October 11. It has amended the Anti-Terrorist Act, 1997, and curtailed fundamental rights of citizens. Now the government has gone ahead and promulgated another ordinance […]

The Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA), the largest bar association of the country, in a general body meeting has passed a resolution against the conduct of three judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan including the Chief Justice, Iftekhar Muhammad Chaudhry. The resolution has demanded that a reference be filed against them before the […]

The Minority Rights Group International has published a report entitled, ‘Living with insecurity: Marginalization and sexual violence against women in north and east Sri Lanka’. The executive summary of the report is as follows: Four years since the end of the armed conflict, the situation of minority women in the north and east of Sri Lanka […]

The case of Ganeshan Nimalaruban, a Tamil prisoner whose death in prison evoked local and international expressions of concern last year was taken up on October 14 before the Supreme Court and the de facto Chief Justice, Mohan Peiris, refused to grant leave to proceed in the fundamental rights case. The de facto CJ refused […]

The situation in Miryang is deeply alarming and appears to be deteriorating. The police are carrying out arbitrary arrests and detention, threat and harassment towards villagers and human rights defenders including violence and indiscriminate photo-taking and videotaping without warrants with concealment of the police identity. These actions have been taking place since the Korea Electronic […]

In his message for the world peace day, the Secretary-General of the United Nations said: “On this International Day of Peace, let us pledge to teach our children the value of tolerance and mutual respect. Let us invest in schools and teachers that will build a fair and inclusive world that embraces diversity. Let us […]

Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan, globally known to have critiqued the incumbent government of Bangladesh against its human rights abuses, has been released from prison today, October 11, 2013, after 62 days of prolonged arbitrary detention. It was back in August 10 that officers from the Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrived at Adilur’s Dhaka […]

On October 3, the Government of Pakistan made a move towards respecting human rights and announced its decision to renew the moratorium on the death penalty. This decision came in response to a great deal of international pressure from NGOs and media outlets calling on Pakistan to respect the right to life. The moratorium had […]