Administration of justice

On May 26, the Danish government announced that it has earmarked 4.5 million Danish Krone (US$ 750,000) for the new office of the U.N. High Commission on Human Rights in Nepal. The office will use this money over the coming two years for active monitoring and investigating of gross rights abuses occurring on the ground […]

On 25 October 2000, more than 25 young Tamils at a rehabilitation centre in Bindunuwewa near Bandarawela in the south-central part of the island were attacked and killed by a Sinhalese group.  Who were the actual culprits?  Who were their masterminds?  To these questions Sri Lanka’s justice system has no answers.   Likewise, after nearly […]

The case of Don Wijerathna Munasinghe, who was arrested on 10 April 2005 and subsequently died of injuries allegedly received at the Maharagama Police Station, received wide publicity in the media.?The alleged reason for his arrest was that he did not stop his three-wheeler vehicle when instructed to do so by the police.?The following morning […]

Since January 2005, at least 18 human rights and political activists have killed or disappeared in the Philippines. The latest reported attack was on Alden Ambida, a provincial coordinator of the opposition Bayan Muna party in Eastern Samar this April 11. He is now fighting for his life in hospital. In March, three other Bayan […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is gravely concerned to hear that even though Partha Majumder disappeared on 5 September 1997 and his family has been fighting a battle to ensure justice ever since, the accused are still at large. (See further UA-171-2004). Furthermore, a complaint has been submitted by the victim’s brother, Mr […]

As the Sixty-first Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is taking place in Geneva, we would like to draw attention to the colossal absence of human rights in three countries in the Asia region.  The countries are Nepal, Burma/Myanmar and Cambodia.  While Burma/Myanmar and Cambodia have been on this list for quite […]

The government of King Gyanendra in Nepal, who took absolute power on February 1, is now mobilising military-backed mobs to engage in extreme acts of violence on the pretext of fighting Maoists. The army-orchestrated burning of hundreds of homes and lynching of about 30 alleged Maoists in Kapilvastu district are methods of control all too […]

While the murder case of Judge Ambepitiya–who was killed two days before Gerald Perera was shot–is already fixed for trial at bar, it may take 5-7 years–or even more–before Gerald’s case is even begun to be heard at the high court. Despite Gerald being a witness waiting to give evidence in a criminal case when […]

This year’s Independence Day is celebrated amidst a complex background. The disastrous consequences of the 26 December 2004 tsunami have merely added to the burdens faced by Sri Lanka’s political and legal systems due to the authoritarian model of governance introduced through the 1978 constitution, which gave rise to conflicts in the south, north and […]

Nearly a week has passed since the Thai Ministry of Defence announced the setting up of a panel to investigate three officers implicated in the killing of at least 85 persons by security forces in Narathiwat last October 2004. The men stand accused of having “mishandled” a protest outside the Tak Bai police station, leading […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is writing to direct your attention to the serious human rights violations committed by the arrest of Mr Kem Sokha and Mr Yeng Virak on December 31, 2005. Mr Kem Sokha is a senior Cambodian politician, who has been a member of parliament since its inception in 1993 after […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) shares the concerns expressed by the Secretary General of the United Nations in his statement on the human rights situation in Nepal. Time and again the AHRC has stressed that regional governments such as India, international governments and bodies such as European Union, national political parties and the King […]

On the 21 November 2004, Gerald Mervin Perera, victim of a well-known torture case was shot as he was travelling to work in a bus in the early hours of the morning.  In his pocket was the summons issued by the High Court of Negombo, summoning him to give evidence in a torture case against […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), a human rights organization in West Bengal, that 11 police officers, allegedly involved in the disappearance of Partha Majumdar seven years ago, have been charged by the Additional District and Session Judge, 1st Court at Barasat, through Partha’s family’s […]

It emerged over the weekend that there had been some kind of deal to keep a former Sri Lankan government minister out of jail on contempt of court charges, but it fell through. Reaction to the jailing of S B Dissanayake for two years on December 7 concentrated on the fact that this deal had […]

As we commemorate International Human Rights Day on December 10, 2004, the state of human rights in most countries of Asia is very bleak. Without serious efforts to defend these principles, life in a great many parts of the region will rapidly grow dramatically worse. The major threat to human rights in the region has […]

It has now been eighteen days since the shooting of Gerald Perera in broad daylight, while he was travelling to work on a bus. Gerald died three days later, on November 24th, from the injuries that he had sustained during this attack. Although the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) is now enquiring into the case – […]

The assassination of the High Court Judge Sarath Ambepitiya took place on the 19th of November. To date, no one has owned up to the responsibility for the failure to provide security to the Judge, who held senior position in the judiciary. In any democracy or in any country that respects the rule of law, […]

Several newspapers reported on 29 November 2004 that the Bar Association of Sri Lanka has taken a stand to instruct lawyers not to appear for those persons accused of the murder of a Colombo High Court judge. Its president, Ikram Mohamed, is reported to have said that although every suspect has the right to retain […]

It is now five days since the shooting of Gerald Mervin Perera, who died yesterday, November 24. However, as yet there have been no arrests. Nor have there been any reports of progress in investigations. In fact, there do not appear to be any serious inquiries at all. As Gerald Perera was due to stand […]