Urgent Appeal Case

SITUATION: In December 2001, Arunprakash Vaithilingam, a migrant worker from Tamil Nadu in India, stabbed his roommate, also an Indian national, to death with a knife during a drunken argument. He was arrested and charged with murder. He is facing execution after he was convicted of death in February 2003. At his trial, Arunprakash Vaithilingam […]

ACEH: Genocide? ——————————————————————- ACEH: 507 Schools burned down in a month The Jakarta Post has reported that 507 school buildings have been set on fire by unidentified persons in ten districts in Banda Aceh since 19 May 2003 (18 June 2003, http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillatestnews.asp?fileid=20030617165834&irec=7) resulting in 70,000 students with no school to attend and nowhere to study. However, […]

Dear Friends The Mon Forum has reported that a police officer in Mon State, Burma (Myanmar), severely tortured a local farmer alleged to have not given his compulsory quota of paddy to the authorities. When the case became known in the community, Buddhist monks held police and military officials to account. The police held a […]

Dear Friends AHRC is informed of a severe case of torture by the military in Nepal. Besides, recently many other torture cases are reported from Nepal. Your urgent action is required and we firmly believe that all efforts should be made urgently for impartial investigation of the allegations, medical treatment, and safety to the victims, […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission has received a report on the continuous incidences of unlawful, ruthless and brutal assaults and deaths in Police lock-ups in Malaysia. A report by the Police Watch and Human Rights Committee reveals the alarming figure of 2.2 people being killed or dying in Police lock-ups/detention centres every month. Most likely […]

Dear Friends While AHRC welcomes the release of Tien Chua, Saari Sungib and Hishamuddin Rais, we urge the Malaysian Government to release the other detainees still in custody under the ISA. We should not forget those who are still detained in the Kamunting detention centre. According to information on the Malaysia Kini website (http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/2003060100110593.php) on […]

INDONESIA: attacks on human rights defenders reaching crisis point ——————————————————————- Fourteen months after the attack on the Jakarta office of Kontras which we reported to you in UA-11-2002 (16 May 2002), the office and staff of Kontras have again been violently attacked by civilian militias.  This follows our two recent appeals describing the abduction and […]

INDIA – Due process; administration of justice ——————————————————————- This urgent appeal relates to the proposal by of the Committee on Reforms of the Criminal Justice System. The major reforms proposed are: 1. To reject the proof beyond reasonable doubt in criminal cases and to introduce “a lesser standard;” 2. Virtually do away with presumption of […]

Dear Friends SITUATION: The International Security Act (ISA), that was enacted in the 1960s, remains frequently used to arrest, and indefinitely detain without trial, human rights and opposition campaigners. The ISA reportedly allows the authorities to arbitrarily arrest, detain incommunicado and interrogate activists, without granting them access to legal counsel or family visits for up […]

Dear Friends SITUATION: The International Security Act (ISA), that was enacted in the 1960s, remains frequently used to arrest, and indefinitely detain without trial, human rights and opposition campaigners. The ISA reportedly allows the authorities to arbitrarily arrest, detain incommunicado and interrogate activists, without granting them access to legal counsel or family visits for up […]

Severe Torture and Illegal Arrest- Chandana Kumar and Ajith Shatha by Biyagama police Victims Hetti Kankanamalage Chandana Jagath Kumar (23 years old) and Ajith Shantha Kumana Peli (32 years old) Date-13th May, 2003 Perpetrators: A Group of Police Officers from Biyagama Police A group of drunken policemen attacked two victims, one of whom was Hetti Kankanamalage Chandana […]

INDONESIA: Crime against Humanity – state-organised mass killings, disappearances, torture, long-term political imprisonment and lifelong discrimination, threats to human rights defenders ——————————– This is an Urgent Appeal to all concerned with supporting the victims of one of the most horrific crimes of the 20th Century: Indonesia’s 1965 massacre. The first preliminary investigation into the massacre […]

SITUATION: On 21 April 2003 five Human Rights activists were abducted and two of them tortured and killed in Naujan Town, Oriental Mindoro province, Southern Tagalog. The bodies of Eden Marcellana, Secretary General of the Alyans sa Pagsusulong ng Karapatang Pantao in Southern Tagalog (Karapatan-ST), and Eddie Gumanoy, Chairperson of the peasant group, KASAMA-TK (Kasapian ng mga […]

SITUATION: Complaint Against Young Seok, Song (Y.S. Song). Tel number in Korea: Tel:+82-2-2272-4340 Tel/Fax:+82-2-545-1031 Name of the factory in Sri Lanka – Young Jee & Ones Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. HEADQUARTERS – KOTRA: Relocation date : June 1, 1999 New Address : 300-9, Yumgok-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, Korea Tel.(rep) : (82-2) 3460-7114 Fax.(rep) : (82-2) 3460-7777 Information […]

SITUATION: Two Human Rights activists, Mukhlis Ishak, aka Choy, 27 yrs old, from Darussalam Banda Aceh, and Zulfikar, aka Joul, 24 yrs old, from Kramat Banda Aceh, have disappeared. The Banda Aceh Legal Aid Institute (LBH Banda Aceh) has found proof of the kidnap and disappearance of the two men. On Thursday, 27 March, 2003, […]

SRI LANKA: Torture and Illegal Detention; Police Hit Man with Iron Bars ——————————————————————- NAME of the Victim: K.T.Kumarasinghe, alias Sunil. ADDRESS: No. 140, Kadanhena, Gallalla. AGE: 33 years old. OCCUPATION: Sri Lankan Army. DATE ARRESTED: 01/04/2003 at the above address at 20.40 hours. ALLEGED REASON FOR THE ARREST: Theft. OFFICERS WHO ARRESTED: S.I.-C.I.B. Police Station. […]

INDONESIA/ACEH: Denial of freedom of expression; threat to people’s movement for peace and democracy ———————————————————————- \”I will politically take reponsible for what I have done in Sura Peace Rally on January 9, 2003. I will also keep on calling for democracy until fundamental freedom and independence prevail in Aceh. Repression will never stop me.\” The […]

This case is about Yoga Clement Benjamin alias \”Rasa\” (47), married with three children, a Catholic and a Tamil of Hillview Road, Pannila, Kalutara South in Sri Lanka. He was shot and killed by the police officers of the Kalutara South Police on 26 February 2003. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Until the month of April 2002, Yoga […]

INDONESIA: Crime against humanity; massacre – denial of criminal justice ——————————————————————— Dear Friends, AHRC has issued the following open letter regarding the inquiry into the 1965-66 massacre in Indonesia. We invite you to also write your own letters to the inquiry team. Please note that we have corrected the name of the Secretary General of […]

INDIA: Denial of land rights; brutal attack on tribals ——————————————————————— The struggle for land rights waged by the indigenous communities in the southern Indian state of Kerala has taken a violent, tragic turn with the police and the forest protection staff unleashing a brutal attack with gunfire on more than 1,000 tribals to evict them […]