Urgent Appeal Update

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information from a reliable source that the hearing of five men in Davao City on July 25 was once again postponed. This is yet another incident of the prosecutor’s failure to ensure that its complainants and witnesses appeared for scheduled hearings. In June, the […]

[RE: FA-06-2004: THAILAND: A human rights lawyer Mr. Somchai Neelaphaijit missing; UA-94-2004: Severe torture victims still in custody while police torturers remain in posts; UP-14-2004: Mr. Somchai Neelaphaijit is still missing and the police may be involved in his disappearance; UP-26-2004: 5 suspects in the alleged abduction of missing human rights lawyer Mr. Somchai Neelaphaijit […]

[RE: UP-43-2005: SAUDI ARABIA/SRI LANKA: Questions remain in Sri Lanka’s willingness to save three of its citizens; UP-39-2005: Three Sri Lankans face imminent execution in Saudi Arabia; UP-38-2005: SAUDI ARABIA/SRI LANKA: Please send a letter to the King of Saudi Arabia urging his intervention to commute the death sentence of three Sri Lankans; UP-34-2005: Death […]

[Re: UA- 50 -2005: INDIA: Three and a half year wait for justice for the brutal murder of an Adivasi (tribal person) by a forest official in Gujarat] Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information on the case of Manishbhai Motibhai Vasava (30), an adivasi who was murdered by an Indian […]

[RE: UP-10-2005: THAILAND: Updated information on the torture of the four men by the Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya police, UP-04-2005: THAILAND: Repeated torture at Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Police Station; UA-170-2004: Anther case of torture to obtain confession at Ayutthaya Police Station, UP-75-2004: Demand immediate criminal action against police torturers, UP-71-2004: More serious allegations of […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is pleased to learn that at least two police officers have been suspended and arrested in connection with the torture and death of a man in police custody in Kollam District, Kerela, India. (See further: UA-95-2005). The arrested constables have been remanded to police custody until 7 July […]

[UA-38-2002: SRI LANKA: Torture victim has not been produced before the JMO even after a magistrate’s order; UP-07-2004: SRI LANKA: Michael Anthony Fernando attacked; UP-49-2003: Michael Anthony Fernando receives death threats, UP-45-2003: Michael Anthony Fernando freed and given an Asian human rights award, UP-26-2003: Update on Mr Michael Anthony Emmanuel Fernando (‘Tony’), UP-19-2003, UP-14-2003, UA-09-2003: […]

[RE: UA-84-2005: NEPAL: Re-arrest of Nepalese citizens undermines official court orders and rule of law; UP-16-2005: NEPAL: List of arrested political leaders and human rights defenders; International intervention is urgently required; UA-100-2005: NEPAL: Confirmed re-arrest of at least 32 political activists and human rights defenders in violation of court orders following the royal takeover] Dear […]

[UP-32-2004: Tissa Kumara receives further death threats; UP-28-2004: Police pressure the torture victim to withdraw case by threatening his family; UP-22-2004: Tuberculosis patient kept in solitary cell due to fabricated charges by police; UP-21-2004: The torture victim acquires tuberculosis by the direct action of the police; UA-18-2004: Severely injured torture victim need urgent medical treatment […]

(RE: UA-164-2004: INDONESIA: The family receives death threats for demanding an impartial inquiry into the death of Munir; UP-30-2005: Unveiling of suspect in Munir’s death may end further inquiries; UP-47-2005: INDONESIA: State intelligence officers delay Munir investigation; UP-72-2005: INDONESIA: The mandate of the fact-finding team investigating Munir’s murder has to be extended/Family of Munir and […]

[Re: UA-101-2005: BURMA/MALAYSIA: Sixty eight Burmese protesters holding a peaceful demonstration are arbitrarily detained by the police] Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the situation of 68 Burmese protesters who were detained on 16 June 2005 after a peaceful demonstration opposite the Myanmar Embassy in Kuala Lumpur (See […]

[RE: UA-31-2005: BURMA: Local officials set up on forced labour charges to cover for senior military officers; UP-69-2005: BURMA: Villagers lodge second complaint for detention of wrong persons in forced labour case] Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received a reply from the International Labour Office (ILO) clarifying the complaints lodged by […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information from sources in Indonesia regarding the killings of demonstrators at Trisakti and Semanggi, Jakarta in 1998/99 (See Further: UA-23-2002). For years, Indonesian human rights NGOs, the victims and their families have been struggling for the establishment of an ad hoc human rights court, which […]

[Re: UP-74-2005: SRI LANKA: Torture victim Priyankara received death threats again and urgent witness protection is required; UP-37-2004: A Kandy coordinator of National Police Commission allegedly cooperates with torture perpetrators; UP-34-2004: Priyankara brutally assaulted and arrested with no access to lawyers; UP-33-2004: Torture victim severely beaten again, forcibly taken to the police station in critical […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the further postponement in the trial of Jejhon Macalinsal, Aron Salah and Abubakar Amilhasan due to a possible neglect by the court and prosecutor. Despite the case having been scheduled for hearing four times in June, the trial has not go ahead […]

[Re: UA-76-2004: THAILAND: A prominent environmentalist Charoen Wat-aksorn murdered and an independent investigation required; UP-40-2004: THAILAND: Arrest warrant issued against a local politician for the murder of Charoen Wat-aksorn] Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) in Thailand has yet to bring justice […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the torture of Bernard Janapriyana (See further: UA-63-2005). In a letter to the AHRC dated 25 May 2005, Inspector General of the Police (IGP) Chandra Fernando informed the AHRC that an inquiry had been conducted by the Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Southern Range […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the torture of Gamini Senadeera and his wife, who gave birth prematurely to a stillborn child due to police perpetrated torture on 21 April 2005 (See: UA-75-2005). According to reliable sources, the perpetrators are suspected to have carried out the torture at the […]

[RE: UA-34-2005: Killing of a labor rights activist for the Hacienda Luisita farm workers in Tarlac City, UP-26-2005: Priest supporting for the Hacienda Luisita farm workers in La Paz, Tarlac killed and two others wounded, UP-28-2005: Attempt on the life of a human rights lawyer working for the Hacienda Luisita farm workers, UP-29-2005: Two more […]

[RE: UA-112-2004: BURMA: Complaints against forced labour blocked and victims punished issued on 3 September 2004; UP-11-2005: Four officials sentenced to prison for forced labour in Kawmhu Township, Yangon Division; UP-63-2005: Local officials seek revenge against villager who obtained first successful forced labour prosecution; UP-68-2005: Preliminary hearing against villager who obtained first successful forced labour […]