Administration of justice

ASIA: Lawyer files for Writ of Mandamus against Supreme Court Judge Eva Wansundara

A Petition filed in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka by senior lawyer and public interest litigation activist Nagananda Kodituwakku forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) READ FULL TEXT OF APPEAL HERE The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward to you the following Petition filed in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, […]

WORLD: “I call the Myanmar authorities to immediately permit my Office and the United Nations unfettered access to Rakhine State” – Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein

A Statement from Office of the High Commission for High Commissioner forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Special Session of the Human Rights Council on the human rights situation of the minority Rohingya Muslim population and other minorities in the Rakhine State of Myanmar Statement by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad […]

PHILIPPINES: Response to Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque’s statements on the complaints filed by Karapatan to the UN

A Statement from Alliance for the Advancement of Peoples Rights (KARAPATAN)  forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission When we file complaints to the UN, or when we issue any statement or document cases, we ensure that victims, survivors and/or their relatives not only give their consent for their cases to be publicized or filed […]

PHILIPPINES: Two human rights defenders killed and one wounded while conducting a Fact- Finding Mission in Negros Oriental

Dear Friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) deeply regrets to inform you that two human rights defenders were killed and one wounded by unknown armed men in Negros Oriental. The victims were on their way to the police station to report the harassment they were encountering. The victims were allegedly killed by elements of […]

INDIA: Farmers in border areas must be allowed access to their lands

The border regions of India are manned by members of the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel, who are always heavily armed, and wield significant power over the residents of these border villages. Recent events have demonstrated the highhandedness of these personnel in dealing with civilians. The primary occupation of the residents of the village is […]

SRI LANKA: Hand Book for Barefoot Lawyers and Human Rights Defenders, produced by Janasansadaya, People’s Forum, Sri Lanka (Sinhala)

Reviewed by Basil Fernando The Hand Book for Bare footLawyers and Human Rights Defenders is a very useful and valuable contribution for litigants in Sri Lanka. The book is produced by Janasansadaya, and edited by Chitral Perera and Chandrasena Badhugama. Janasansadaya is a reputed organisation based in Panadura, Sri Lanka, which has been serving litigants from mainly low incomegroups. The […]

PAKISTAN: The last nail in the coffin of democracy

The nuclear state surrenders before a religious mob- virtually handing over absolute power and blanket immunity to fundamentalism and militancy The year 2017 in Pakistan has been marked by tussles between state institutions and the army. The chain of events that started with a seemingly whimsical news item about the war of words between the […]

INDONESIA: Critics Using Meme Against Public Authority is Part of Freedom of Expression

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned about the following situation. Mr. Setya Novanto, speaker and Chairman of the House of Representatives, was summoned by the KPK(the Corruption Eradication Commission) to take part in an examination process. He is a bribery suspect in the gigantic corruption case of the Electronic Identity Card (E-KTP). There […]

SRI LANKA: “Police Fails to Conduct An Impartial Inquiry Into the Accident that Killed A Doctor”, Lawyer Tells The Court

The Specialist Doctor Wasantha Pushpakumara Herath died as a result of a fatal accident on the 22nd of September 2017. His car was being driven from Kandy to Colombo on the Kandy Road. A lorry which had tried to overtake another vehicle at a very high speed collided with the vehicle driven by Dr. Herath […]

SRI LANKA: අපරාධ නඩු ඉක්මනින් විසදීම ගැන පාර්ලිමේන්තු කොමිටු වර්තාව – On Parliamentary Sectoral Committee Recommendations (In Sinhala)

In this video commentary, Mr Basil Fernando of the Asian Human Rights Commission comments on the recommendations of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Legal Affairs, on the expeditious and efficient administration of criminal justice. This Committee made a report on the above topic on the 20th September 2017. In that Report while the Committee admitted that unacceptable and shameful […]

INDIA: Supreme Court agrees Hadiya has the right to choice, not her parents

An article from The Indian Express forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission The Kerala High Court made up for the lack of evidence by relying on its morality and biases, its prejudiced notions of how a young woman must behave and its obvious sympathies with Hadiya’s parents who were unable to exercise any control […]

AHRC TV: Indonesia’s corruption watchdog arrests Parliament Speaker and other stories in JUST ASIA, Episode 198

This week Just Asia begins with Indonesia, where the Corruption Eradication Commission finally secured the arrest of Parliament Speaker Mr. Setya Novanto. Novanto is a suspect in the national electronic identity card scheme case, having caused losses of IDR 2.3 trillion. Next, Pakistan observed Universal Children’s Day on November 20 as a mere formality, while […]

NEPAL: Police thrash man over minor infringement

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Terai Human Rights Defenders Alliance (THRDA) that traffic police officers attached with the Lahan District Traffic Office thrashed Mr. Dhananjaya Yadav for failing to stop his motorcycle near them. Yadav was beaten for nearly 30 minutes. This incident is indicative of the […]

PAKISTAN: Mercy plea to the President

An article from www.dawn.com forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission MR Mamnoon Hussain President, Islamic Republic of Pakistan Mohtaram Sadar, (Respected President) I am taking the liberty of seeking Your Excellency’s intervention to secure an end to the plight of six individuals. One of them is a woman journalist and defender of human rights, another is […]

INDONESIA: Journalist in Timika, Papua brutally attacked by police officers

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the brutal attack against Mr. Saldi Hermanto, a journalist in Timika, Papua. He was attacked by the police after he criticized on Facebook the police handling of security at an entertainment show he attended. Although the Mimika Police Chief has promised to properly […]

ASIA: Declassified US Embassy documents reveal Indonesian Military involvement in the 1965 -66 Killings

Declassified US Embassy documents reveal Indonesian Military involvement in the 1965 -66 Indonesian Massacre that killed nearly 500,00 persons. Many believe the number to be much larger as much as 2.5 Million persons. These killings were a part of a well-planned massacre in order to completely destroy the Indonesian communist party, which was then the […]

INDIA: The optimism and good intention of the Supreme Court of India must not be allowed to be subverted by politicians

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is concerned to know that the home ministers of several state governments in India have decided to protract the implementation of the directives on police reforms issued by the Supreme Court of India in Prakash Singh & Others V Union of India and Others by filing a review petition against the […]

BANGLADESH: Rohingya community leader Ko Ko Linn abducted and his whereabouts remains unknown

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. Ko Ko Linn, a Rohingya community leader who was living in Bangladesh, has been picked up from a bus on 17 November 2017. Ko Ko Linn was travelling by bus from Cox’s Bazar to Chittagong in the evening of that day. The […]

INDONESIA: Local community in Sanghiang Island victim of land grabbing and fabricated case

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Banten People Legal Aid (LBH Rakyat Banten) about land grabbing and a fabricated case against the local community of Sanghiang Island, Banten province. Despite the local community having lived on the island for many years, the PT. PKP company suddenly claimed that the […]

AHRC TV: UN wants to strengthen ASEAN’s human rights mechanism and other stories in JUST ASIA, Episode 197

This week Just Asia begins with the ninth ASEAN-UN Summit on Monday, where United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the UN wants to work with ASEAN to strengthen the regional bloc’s human rights body. This comes as several ASEAN countries face human rights related controversies. Particularly troubling is Burma’s violence against the Rohingya Muslim minority, […]