Administration of justice

PAKISTAN: Love marriage greeted by the torture of a family; one girl is abducted by a Punjab MP

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission has received information that six members of a family, including three women and one young girl, were arrested on the instructions of a member of the Punjab provincial assembly (and Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N) in retaliation for a love marriage. All have been tortured severely by police in custody, […]

PAKISTAN: Two peasants are arrested on fabricated charges the day before they testify in court, another remains missing

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that two peasants have been arrested under fabricated charges the day before their long awaited court case against a local criminal. The criminal, who abducted one of the peasant’s brothers, beat his family members and is known for illegal land grabs, has close ties with […]

SRI LANKA: Police apathy exposed towards the rape of a 14-year-old girl

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that police officers are failing to act on a report made by a young girl, who was abducted and raped on 27 April. The girl knows her attacker and has presented evidence of the crime, yet no substantive action has been taken by the local police station.  CASE DETAILS: (based […]

PHILIPPINES: Conclude investigation into the killing of two farmers

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concern over the delay in the conclusion of the investigation into the deaths of two farmers who were last seen alive taken by soldiers in Sta. Catalina, Negros Oriental on 2 February 2009. Their dead bodies had been discovered when the investigators exhumed a gravesite […]

THAILAND: Man given ten years’ imprisonment for lese-majesty online

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) condemns the latest imprisonment of an Internet user in Thailand for posting online supposedly offensive images to the country’s royal family. We are bringing you details of the case and urge you to protest strongly against this use of draconian laws, old and new, to attempt to […]

SRI LANKA: Police allegedly torture men during interrogation

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that police allegedly tortured a man, accused of murder, to force him to provide five names during interrogation in the Nawalapitiya police station on January 9. All five men named were accordingly arrested. One man was allegedly tortured. The other four were put in […]

PAKISTAN: Gender-biased judge should be transferred from rape trials

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has discovered that a judge whose unprofessional behaviour in a rape trial last month caused widespread concern, has been assigned the case of another teenage rape victim.  CASE DETAILS:  Court spectators and prosecutors expressed outrage at the behaviour of Additional District and Sessions Judge Nizar Ali Khawaja […]

UPDATE (Indonesia): Rights activist Buchtar Tabuni in trial on charges of subversion

Dear Friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you that the subversion charges against rights activist Mr. Buchtar Tabuni, referred to as Buktar Tabuni in previous appeal have not been dropped, and that he is currently facing trial at Jayapura District Court, Indonesia. The main charge against him is under article no. 106 of […]

UPDATE (Philippines): Human rights and political activists exonerated from murder cases face another questionable charge

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes with deep concern that a labour lawyer and several other activists, who had already been released after they were exonerated from questionable charges, have been charged with another murder complaint. Had they not been informed by a colleague, they would have not known that they had […]

BURMA: Man jailed over footage of army-confiscated farmlands

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has obtained details of the charging, sentencing and imprisoning of a man in Burma for helping farmers to lodge complaints about confiscation of land in the central part of the country. Ko Zaw Htay was found guilty of giving out official secrets and sentenced to ten years’ […]

PAKISTAN: Military ignores tribunal’s decision

Dear Friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding a case where the military officials are continuing to ignore a court order. The decision made by the Federal Service Tribunal (FST) concerning the employment of two peasants, formerly employed by the military, is yet to be complied with.  CASE DETAILS:  Mr. James […]

SRI LANKA: Police assaulted and laid false charges on an officer working against illegal logging

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that the police had assaulted and laid false charges on another officer for his involvement in working against illegal logging. The policemen had his house searched without court orders. He was threatened and the police ignored the complaints he had made against the […]

UPDATE (Indonesia): Another activist arrested for holding a peaceful protest

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you that another activist has been arrested and charged with subversion over his role in organizing a peaceful protest two months ago. His arrest took place as he and his colleagues had just concluded a press conference calling for the release of an activist […]

SRI LANKA: Torture victim continuously denied examination and medical treatment in detention

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that a man, who had to endure a court trial over false charges laid on him for assaulting policemen two years ago, has been continuously deprived of medical examination and treatment while in detention. The policemen tortured him in custody after they arrested […]

ASIA: Protection of human rights in non-rule of law countries – institutional reforms in the administration of justice must be given primacy of place

The celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the UDHR is a grim reminder that even after 60 years of the adoption of this great declaration the gap between what is declared and what is actually achieved by way of the improvement of the protection of the rights of the people is enormous. Both in the […]

SRI LANKA: Jailers assault and arbitrarily detain a man who failed to pay a bribe

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Kegalle jailors illegally detained a man. They asked for money to release him even though there was an order of release on bail from the court on 22 October 2008. When he told another jailor about his illegal detention, he was assaulted and […]

SRI LANKA: Policemen have yet to be charged over the custodial death of a man

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that the policemen responsible for the death of a man while in their custody eight months ago have not been charged, despite recommendation by the court in a death inquest that they should be prosecuted.  CASE DETAILS: (Based on the testimony of the victim’s […]

UPDATE (Bangladesh): Superior police patronise Paikgachha police to continue fabricating charges against detained human rights defenders

Dear friends, After closely following the case of Razzak and Shankar (please see further: AHRC-UAU-065-2008 and AHRC-UAU-067-2008), the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed that Razzak and Shankar are now detained in the Khulna District Jail, since the evening of 8 November. UPDATED INFORMATION: The Paikgachha police produced Mr. F M A Razzak and Mr. Shankar […]

UPDATE (Thailand): Court ignores evidence of police killings

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) deeply regrets to inform you that a local court in southern Thailand has ordered after four years of hearing the post-mortem inquest over the death of 19 men, on the pretext of self defense, that the policemen who killed them cannot be charged. The court had depended […]

PAKISTAN: A girl is mauled by dogs and later killed on the pretext of an honour killing

In May of this year a Jirga, an illegal tribal court, was held against a girl of 17 years in which she was declared as Kari (having had an illicit relationship with someone). This was done, according to the tribal traditions, to justify her earlier murder by members of her own family. The Jirga was […]