Administration of justice

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that protection offered to Thai Buddhist monk Phra Kitisak Kitisophon by the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) has been withdrawn even though the monk continues to receive death threats in relation to the earlier killing of monk Phra Supoj Suwagano (UA-112-2005), which has not […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission welcomes the landmark ruling by the Supreme Court of Nepal on Monday February 13, 2006, which declared the controversial Royal Commission for Corruption Control (RCCC) unconstitutional and ordered it to be scrapped immediately. This has paved the way for the release of ousted Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who had […]

[RE: UP-120-2005: SRI LANKA: Trial begins in High Court relating to the torture of Gerald Perera; UP-32-2005: SRI LANKA: Please write a letter to the Attorney General to speed up Gerald Perera’s murder trial; UP-23-2005: Gerald Perera’s murder trial may not begin for another 5-7 years, UP-14-2005: The assassin of Gerald Perera has been arrested […]

[RE: UP-013-2006: BANGLADESH: Three persons tortured by the Chapainawabganj police; UA-041-2006: BANGLADESH: Eight people killed and at least one hundred injured by police fire in Chapainawabganj district; UA-013-2006: BANGLADESH: Two people killed and thirty-five injured by police fire in Chapainawabganj district; UP-016-2006: BANGLADESH: Three detained and tortured leaders have been released from prison in Chapainawabganj; […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from a number of sources on the ongoing trial of a number of persons who helped lodge a complaint of forced labour with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Burma after a man was killed while working for a road construction project in December […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the assault of female police constable, Sunethra Koswatte (WPC No 3134) by Inspector of Police, Kasturiarachchi at the Matugama police station on 11 January 2006. (To see further details on the case please see UA-039-2006). Since then, an internal disciplinary inquiry has been […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from our partner organisation from Manipur, India that the security forces deployed in Manipur are engaged in murder, arbitrary and illegal arrests and custodial torture. The AHRC is also informed that the acts committed by the 24 Assam Rifles, a military contingent deployed in […]

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has recently secured a pardon for opposition leader Sam Rainsy and his colleague Cheam Channy, who were respectively given a jail sentence of 18 months for alleged defamation and seven years for allegedly organising an illegal army. He has promised to restore their parliamentary immunity. He has also withdrawn his […]

[RE: UP-013-2006: BANGLADESH: Three persons tortured by the Chapainawabganj police; UA-041-2006: BANGLADESH: Eight people killed and at least one hundred injured by police fire in Chapainawabganj district; UA-013-2006: BANGLADESH: Two people killed and thirty-five injured by police fire in Chapainawabganj district; UP-016-2006: BANGLADESH: Three detained and tortured leaders have been released from prison in Chapainawabganj] […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission has today learnt that two of the three members of the Judicial Service Commission of Sri Lanka have resigned their posts as continuing to hold them would be incompatible with their consciences. The two are senior Supreme Court judges Shiranee Bandaranayaka and T B Veerasuriya. The third remaining member and […]

[RE: UP-013-2006: BANGLADESH: Three persons tortured by the Chapainawabganj police; UA-041-2006: BANGLADESH: Eight people killed and at least one hundred injured by police fire in Chapainawabganj district; UA-013-2006: BANGLADESH: Two people killed and thirty-five injured by police fire in Chapainawabganj district] ———————————– UP-016-2006: BANGLADESH: Three detained and tortured leaders have been released from prison in […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the attack on three hamlets, Karama, Bonto Gaddong and Ujung Moncong, in South Sulawesi by a group of army personnel from the 700th Raider Infantry Battalion, which took place on 29 November 2005. A group of army personnel and others from outside […]

[Re: UA-251-2005: Brutal torture of a 25-year-old man over mistaken identity in General Santos City, Mindanao; UP-156-2005: Unabated killing of activists; killing and threats against witnesses exposes the country’s defective witness protection programme UP-158-2005: Two more activists killed, one of whom suffered twenty-two gunshot wounds; UP-160-2005: Armed men kill female activist in Bataan, Luzon; victim’s […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) takes the opportunity of the first anniversary of Cheam Channy’s imprisonment to write to you regarding the injustices of this case. Cheam Channy, a MP from the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), will complete one year in jail on 3 February 2006, out of the seven year sentence passed […]

This February 1, 2006, the case of Ma Su Su Nwe will come before the Supreme Court of Burma. The court will be asked to decide whether or not to admit an appeal against Su Su Nwe’s imprisonment on charges of having abused and intimidated members of a local government council. In effect the court […]

[RE: UP-011-2006: NEPAL: Further arrests occur in Nepal’s escalating crisis; UA-036-2006: NEPAL: Further arrests in Nepal’s worsening political, security and human rights crisis; UG-002-2006: NEPAL: Immediate intervention required in Nepal’s deepening political, security and human rights crisis] ———————————————————————- UP-012-2006: NEPAL: Widespread repression and mass arrests continue to take place in Nepal NEPAL: Human rights defenders; […]

A strange notion prevails in Sri Lankan legal circles that presidential immunity extends even to constitutional violations. This is despite the fact that one of the grounds for the impeachment of a president is ‘intentional violations of the Constitution’, as set out in article 38(2) a(i). A judgment made by the Indian Supreme Court on […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in General Santos City, Mindanao has commenced its investigation into the case of Haron Abubakar Buisan, who was allegedly illegally arrested, detained and brutally tortured by mistaken identity. (See our previous appeal: UA-251-2005). A reliable source said […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received news that two police officers in central Burma have been charged with rape by a local court, despite attempts by the police to bribe and intimidate the victim to withdraw the charges. According to the information received, the Twente Township Court decided after preliminary hearings […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received disturbing information regarding the re-arrest of citizens in Nepal, indicating that the practice is still rife within the country. From this information we can confirm that Shanta Rai, a permanent resident of Itahara VDC ward no 3, Morang and Yeshodha Khatiwada, a permanent resident of […]