Urgent Appeal Case

SUMMARY While presenting his petition before the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, Mr. Anthony Michael Fernando was convicted and imprisoned under contempt of court. His fundamental right to a fair trial was violated as one of the respondents to Mr. Fernando’s claim sat in judgment on him, thereby undermining international norms of judicial objectivity. Furthermore, […]

SUMMARY Since February 1, hundreds of alleged drug dealers have been killed in Thailand’s latest \”war on drugs\”, launched by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. While addressing the drug problem in Thailand is a serious matter, the current government is in effect encouraging the police to sidestep judicial procedure and simply execute alleged offenders. This also […]

The person killed — T. A. Premachandra, 46-years-old, father of two children, driver of the three-wheeler and an electrician by profession attached to the Ceylon Electricity Board, formerly residing at Kajaduwa Watta, Dodangoda The injured — 1. Edward Douglas Peters, 45-years-old, father of one child, driver of a three wheeler, residing at Kajaduwa Watta, Dodangoda […]

PHILIPPINES: Harassment, illegal arrest and detention conspired with landlord and the police ——————————————————————– The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed by Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP), a well-known human rights organisation in the country, about the arrest and detention of a poor farm family under what are believed to be fabricated […]

SRI LANKA: Widespread practice of torture; cruel and inhumane treatment and torture by the police ——————————————————————– – Name of the victims: Anuruddha Kusum Kumara (15) and Bambarende Gamage Suraj Prasanna (17) – Perpetrators: Officers of Wellawa police station and Matugama police station CASES DETAILS Case 1: Cruel and inhumane treatment to a 15-year-old student Anuruddha […]

SRI LANKA: Denial of land right; Loss of land and deprivation of livelihood ——————————————————————– The 168 families of Oliyamulla in the Wattala Electorate, closer to the Negombo Road in Sri Lanka, were asked to leave from the land they had lived for three years. The land belongs to the Urban Council Wattle. It is now […]

BANGLADESH: State crime: mass arrests and torture by the army, but impunity ——————————————————————– Fifty thousand Bangladeshi troops may receive immunity from prosecution and thereby be reprieved of responsibility for torture and other human rights abuses, including the deaths of as many as 44 detainees. The means through which the amnesty would take place is the […]

SRI LANKA: Widespread practice of torture; the case of arbitrary arrest, detention and missing ——————————————————————– – Name of the Victim: KORALAGAMAGE Sujith Dharmasiri (23), unmarried and deserted the army on grounds of serious health problems. – Address of the Victim: Godaparagaha, Palathota road, Kaluthara south. – Responsible Police Station: Crime section of the Kaluthara south […]

SRI LANKA: Widespread practice of torture; another case of brutal assault by the police ——————————————————————– SUMMARY Subasinghe Aarachchilage Nihal Subasinghe (40), suffered serious injuries after been assaulted with a T-56 gun by police officers and was hospitalized. The allegation against Subasinghe is that he has stolen some firewood. In November 200,2 AHRC issued an urgent […]

BHUTAN/NEPAL/INDIA/UNHCR: Denial of the right to refugee; Political maneuvering, stagnation and human rights violations ——————————————————————– One year has past since the refugees of Khudunabari, the first and smallest Bhutanese refugee camp in Nepal, were verified on 14 Dec. 2001, but there has been little or no activity to verify the remaining 88 percent of, or […]

HONG KONG: Fundamental human rights at risk; threat to freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly and the press ——————————————————————– On Sept. 24, 2002, the Hong Kong government released a consultation document containing its proposals to enact national security legislation related to Article 23 of the Basic Law, the mini-Constitution of Hong Kong. The consultation paper […]

Dear Friends, On the occasion of International Human Rights Day (Dec. 10), the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has released a statement entitled “Effective Remedies Are Ineffective in Asia: Governments Ignore U.N. Human Rights Conventions and Domestic Laws.” In the statement, AHRC emphasises that Human Rights Day this year must be an occasion to renew […]

EARLY WARNING (EAST TIMOR): A demonstration by students, which was mishandled by the UN-led police, pushed the country towards a state of emergency. ——————————————————————– The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned from sources in Dili that the incident that triggered the riots on Dec. 4, 2002, occurred when the police tried to arrest a […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that Mr. Musliadi, 26, a coordinator of KaGEMPAR, a coalition of students and youth groups in West Aceh, was found dead after being kidnapped by six men suspected to be members of the Indonesian armed forces on Nov. 30, 2002 (for more details, please see our previous […]

SRI LANKA: Widespread practice of torture; inhuman treatment but no justice ——————————————————————– – Name of the victim: Mohamed Najeed Rukshan – Perpetrator: The police of Gokarella police division – Date of torture: November 14, 2002 Mr. Mohamed Najeed Rukshan (28), a development officer of the Hevanegedera Samurdi Society is living in the village of Dethilianga […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed that a young activist in West Aceh, Mr. Musliadi (26), was kidnapped from his office by six men suspected to be from armed forces on November 30, 2002. His whereabouts remain unknown. He possibly suffers physical assault and torture and may even be in risk of his life.

P. A. Piyadasa of Papiliwela in Veralugampola was arrested by a group of policemen from the Kirindiwela police station at midnight on Nov. 20, 2002, while he was sleeping in his home. In the early morning of Nov. 21, his body was handed over to the Watupitiwela Base Hospital where he was declared dead. 

On 22 November, we issued an appeal about a Dalit woman who was paraded half-naked to humiliate her into giving up on a land claim (see at http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2002/377/). We have received evidence of yet another atrocity on Dalits in India over a separate land dispute ¡© this time it was a raid on a whole Dalit village in Karnataka by the dominant caste community.

According to reliable sources, a Dalit woman in Kishanganj in the India state of Bihar was tormented and paraded half-naked by a group of people who wanted to teach a lesson to her family for not giving away their claim over a piece of land.

SRI LANKA: The widespread practice of torture; Illegal arrest, torture and fabrication of charges by police ——————————————————————– – Name of the victim: A.M. Kusumawathie (37), mother of three children in Uppuwatte, Warapitiya, Darganagaraya – The date of torture: October 22, 2002 – Tortured by: Aluthgama Police   CASE DETAILS Kusumawathie was assaulted by police with […]