Statement

Torture: Asian and Global Perspectives – Volume 2 Number 01, just issued Torture is endemic! Every moment of every day torture takes place somewhere in the world which shows us the gravity of the social destruction and disorder. Having a dream for a torture free society is not an illusion but something that is attached […]

A judge of the Lahore High Court changed his decision less than two minutes after ruling in favour of the accused in a blasphemy case when lawyers and members of fundamentalist groups threatened him. The judge, in the fear of the dire consequences, quickly withdrew his decision of granting bail to the accused persons. May […]

On the Vesak Celebration for this year, the Asian Human Rights Commission offers the following greetings.

The Fundamental Rights case of Ganeshan Nimalaruban was taken before the Supreme Court yesterday. The Bench consisted of: Mohan Peiris CJ, P. A Ratnayake PC J and S Hettige J. In the course of submissions by the petitioner’s lawyers, Chief Justice Mohan Peiris made the following remarks: “When the prison is under siege do you […]

The twenty first of May 1998 is celebrated by the Indonesians as the birth of reform in their country. It marks the resignation of the then President Soeharto who, at that time had been leading Indonesia for over 30 years. The road to this birth, however, was a bloody one. In May 1998 two gross […]

A Joint Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission and Odhikar on the occasion of the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women’s visit in Bangladesh Two female Members of Parliament of the Opposition were ill-treated by Police on 7 March 2013 in Dhaka, Bangladesh Introduction: 1. Bangladesh has been ruled alternately by two women […]

Serious doubts have emerged regarding the future investigations into the mass grave at Matale where the remains of 156 persons have been found. In today’s press it was reported that the Judicial Medical Officer in charge of the investigation has been transferred (JMO in charge of Matale mass grave also to be transferred — Sri Lanka […]

Chief Justice Mohan Peiris stopped further inquiries into a Fundamental Rights application yesterday, stating that the courts do not have the technical competence to go into the issues raised in the case. This decision was made in a case filed against the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation. The BBC Sinhala service reported that […]

Lal Wickrematunge, the brother of the assassinated editor of the Sunday Leader, Lasantha Wickrematunge, and until very recently the owner of Leader Publications, spoke yesterday to the BBC Sinhala Service. He stated that it is dangerous today to be engaged in publication work in Sri Lanka. Giving views other than the government’s version of things […]

It is the responsibility of the government to ensure that Abdul Waheed Khan projects are continued so that his death will not be in vain On May 13 a well known human rights defender, social activist and educationist was assassinated, allegedly by religious extremists suspected to be members of the Taliban. Mr. Abdul Waheed Khan […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission wishes to inform you about the research based report on historical overview of Blasphemy laws in Pakistan the Blasphemy published by Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), Islamabad. The research was compiled by Mr. Nafees Muhammad, a writer and research fellow. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has the […]

Children are conceived, some born, others grow, and many die in Indian prisons. There is nothing particular about this, since such incidents happen in prisons across the world. However, what is unique to India is that custodial violence, of which many resulting in deaths, is no more news. Yet, the assault upon Mr. Sanaullah Ranjay, […]

News reports from Bangladesh allege that a series of attacks on demonstrators have taken place, at around 3am today, May 6, 2013. The extent of the injuries and death is difficult to be ascertained at the moment. The Daily Star, a Bangladeshi newspaper, gave the figure of deaths as 5. However, several internet reports have mentioned that the […]

Azath Salley, a prominent politician and a well-known Muslim leader, has been arrested and held in detention under the Prevention of Terrorism Law (PTA). According to reports a detention order of 90 days under the PTA days has been issued. However, even his family is unaware of what he has been charged with. His daughter, […]

Once again violence against the Ahmadi community has erupted in Punjab province. As the election are approaching (May 11) this recent outburst is seen as an attempt to influence the voters to support fundamentalists and right wing parties. On 28th April 2013 supporters of Khatme Nabuwwat (the movement against the Ahmadi sect of Islam) raided […]

An Indian prisoner, Sarabjit Singh, died in a state run hospital in Lahore, the capital of Punjab, after he slipped into irreversible coma. He was attacked by six ‘prisoners’ inside the Kot Lakhpat jail during the day on Friday April 26. However, the authorities are claiming that he was attacked by the two prisoners who […]

There have been some developments during the past two weeks that reveal that in the coming elections elements of the Taliban and Al-Qaida had been offered seats in the parliament. Before these developments the security agencies with the help of right wing parties have also allowed 53 sectarian candidates to contest the elections without passing […]

The publically known facts about the mass grave at Matale is that the remains of 154 persons were discovered in this grave, that the remains show injuries which indicate that they were all murdered and that most likely they were assassinated sometime between 1986 and 1991. However, the key question is as to whose remains […]

A Joint Statement by the Asian Legal Resource Centre and Odhikar on Universal Periodic Review on Bangladesh Bangladesh participated in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process at the UN Human Rights Council on 29 April 2013 in the 16th Session of the UPR Working Group in Geneva, Switzerland. The Government’s delegation led by Foreign Minister Dr. […]

In the lead-up to the UN Universal Periodic Review, Bangladesh finds itself offering its citizens an environment amongst the most inimical to human rights since the nation’s inception. At the UN Human Rights Council’s UPR process on 29 April 2013, during the 16th Session of the UPR Working Group in Geneva, Bangladesh’s human rights record will […]