Statement

With reference to the earlier statement relating to a publication by A WHO’S WHO OF SOME LTTE ACTIVISTS, OPPONENTS etc., PAST AND PRESENT the AHRC has written to the webmaster to reveal the author of the fabricated material. For further information on this issue please see: SRI LANKA: AHRC tells the Canada-based Sri Lankan intellectual […]

The nation has suffered a great loss due to this tragic murder. A voice of sanity has been silenced. This has happened at a time when the kind of political leadership provided by Salman Taseer is most needed. He stood for basic values which are essential for the stability of Pakistan. His shocking death should […]

Yesterday we published an open letter relating to false and defamatory material which also amounted to the publication of a death list. Kindly see : SRI LANKA: AHRC tells the Canada-based Sri Lankan intellectual to stop distribution of false and defamatory material and a death list, at: http://www.humanrights.asia/news/ahrc-news/AHRC-OLT-001-2011. We have subsequently received replies from Dr. […]

We hope that wishing for a happy new year in Sri Lanka is not just mere wishful thinking. We wish: 1. That Rizana Nafeek, facing a death sentence in Saudi Arabia, will be released as soon as possible. This wish can become true only if the Sri Lankan government makes all the diplomatic efforts to […]

A law student at the Sri Lanka Law College learned that one of the question papers for the final exams had been leaked. He learned this when one of his fellow students came to another and explained the question that would come up in the exam to be held that day. The student who knew […]

On 22 December 2010, after three years and four petitions, the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) of Pakistan declared several critical clauses of the Protection of Women (Criminal Laws Amendment) Act of 2006 unconstitutional. In place of this act that created protections for women, the FSC supports the reinstatement of the Hudood Ordinances VII of 1979, […]

Supreme Court (SC) affirms conviction of the accused in Abadilla murder but acquits accused in Vizconde Massacre on similar jurisprudence The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to draw the attention of the Supreme Court (SC) of the Philippines to its recent decision on two well-known cases tried in the lower courts; the conviction in […]

The 83rd Plenary Session of the Indian National Congress (INC), held in New Delhi has declared that eradicating corruption would be a priority for the INC and thus for the national government, formed under the banner of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and led by the INC. The President as well as other leaders of […]

While many rumours circulate about the suspension of the death sentence of Rizana Nafeek, the young Sri Lankan maid condemned to death for the alleged murder of an infant under her care in Saudi Arabia, there has been no official change in her case. President Rajapaksa has officially requested the Saudi King for a pardon […]

The latest news by the WikiLeaks claims that India has systematically used torture to extract confessions and has allowed its armed forces to resort to brutal human rights abuses like extrajudicial executions and disappearances to instil fear, and thus control the population in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The report asserts that the International […]

Sri Lankans of all faiths came together in Kandy, Nawalapitiya and Kundasale to sign petitions for the pardoning of Rizana Nafeek, the young Sri Lankan Muslim girl now in a Saudi Jail, condemned to death for the alleged murder of an infant under her care. Rizana was only 17-years-old when she went to work in […]

The simmering debate between three senior judges in India, involving the suspect in a criminal case and a former Union Minister from Tamilnadu state, Mr. A. Raja, and his alleged attempt to influence the court to obtain bail for the suspect with the assistance of the former Chairperson of the Tamilnadu and Pondicherry Bar Council, […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned about the possible implications of President Benigno Aquino III’s order of December 10, 2010 to the Department of Justice (DoJ) instructing them to withdraw the charges against the Morong 43. The accused were 43 individuals, including doctors, nurses, grassroots community health workers. They were illegally arrested […]

According to a media report, the human rights defender monk, U Nemainda, who had been suffered from a curable skin disease for over a month died in the Mawlemyaing prison on December 8. His death is blamed on the absence of medical care. He had complained to the prison authorities about his disease but no […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) appreciates the effort taken by the Home Minister of India in undertaking a visit to Manipur. Manipur is one of the states in India with a poor human rights record. During the past three years the number of encounter killings reported from the state has steadily increased, until the […]

The misuse of the blasphemy laws is not restricted only with the fundamentalist Muslim groups or leaders but is being misused by multinational pharmaceutical companies as well. They take advantage of the law when they are not happy with doctors that do not prescribe their pharmaceuticals. This relatively new misuse of the blasphemy laws was […]

Over six-and-a-half years after police abducted and presumably killed human rights lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit, no one has yet been punished. The one police officer among five accused who was found guilty of a relatively minor criminal charge and sentenced to three years in jail appealed the conviction and while out of prison on bail himself […]

Prayers were held in three Mosques in Galle for saving the life of Rizana Nafeek. Those who attended the prayers also signed a petition addressed to the King of Saudi Arabia for her pardon. A Campaign under the caption of ‘Save Rizana’, organized by Janasansadaya and the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) based in Hong […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) welcomes with reservations President Benigno Aquino III’s order to withdraw the charges against 43 health workers, collectively known as ‘Morong 43′, as reported today. We strongly believe, based on the documents and information that we have also obtained, that they should have not been arrested, detained, and forced to […]

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the occasion of the Human Rights Day The State of Human Rights in the Philippines 2010 report: http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/hrreport/2010/AHRC-SPR-008-2010.pdf The biggest obstacle to the protection and enjoyment of rights in the country is not the absence of law that protect rights and the institution of justice, the […]