Administration of justice

Children with sunken eyes and protruding bones, struggling to breathe; mothers watching haplessly as their children die in front of their eyes; this sad reality was not happening in Somalia or Ethiopia, but in a country that is the seventh atomic power of the world. The ongoing drought in Pakistan’s Tharparkar district, Sindh province has […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Jakarta Legal Aid (LBH Jakarta) regarding the forced eviction of local residents of Bukit Duri, Tebet sub-district, South Jakarta by local authorities. Mr. Aldo Felix Januardy, a public lawyer from LBH Jakarta, was brutally attacked while trying to negotiate with the civil […]

Bangladesh’s Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha has made a rare public statement; he has said the Executive is usurping all the powers of the Judiciary. He called upon all the judges and lawyers to come forward and fight against the Executive’s attempt to control the entire State and its institutions and thereby usurp all the […]

We are producing today a submission made by the Asian Human Rights Commission to the Constitutional Reforms Committee. In our submission among other things , we have made the following argument. That the state of the law enforcement agencies, particularly the policing service, and other branches of the administration of justice, the Attorney General’s Department, […]

Hong Kong enjoys a unique position in Asia, being a jurisdiction where the presence of the rule of law is a felt experience among the general public. In this Special Administrative Region of China, though not a democracy in the true sense of the word, everyone enjoys equal protection under the law. Unfortunately, recent events […]

We are publishing today a statement by JayakumarThangavelu ,a retired senior police officer, who held the rank of DIG in charge of legal division about his experiences as an investigator into political crimes and in witness protection. He writes, “In addressing this subject, I put down my experience of forty years in the Sri Lankan […]

The Government has announced another attempt at constitution making in Sri Lanka which, this time is to begin, with the hope to complete the process, by the end of this year. A resolution to this effect has already been introduced in the Parliament and a Drafting Committee has been named. A valid question that begets […]

In this first episode of Just Asia in 2016, AHRC TV covers stories of disappearances and shrinking spaces for the freedom of expression. However, first up, the programme reports on the conclusion of a rape case in Sri Lanka, more than 14 years after the case began being heard. Rita, unlike many other rape victims, […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from a local network in Papua regarding the arbitrary arrest and torture of three indigenous Papuans, namely ElieserAwom (26), Yafeth Awom (18) dan Soleman Yom (24). They were arrested by four police officers in plain clothes at 11 pm in Deplat, Base-G Jayapura. The […]

A Statement from Front Line Defenders forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission On 5 January 2015, the transgender human rights defender Adnan (also known as Adnany), was shot and critically wounded near the Pir Zakori Bridge in the city of Peshawar. Adnan is a transgender human rights defender and co administrator of theTransAction Page, […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a political activist has disappeared following his arrest, allegedly by Pakistan Ranger personnel. The activist was arrested on 18 November 2015 and has not been produced in any court of law. The missing activist’s wife is pregnant and has threatened that if her […]

Being a Christian in Sri Lanka is a book with a striking cover, showing the view from theSigiriya Rock Fortress (built 477 – 495 AD, a UNESCO World Heritage Site). Leonard Pinto, an ecologist and an author of works on ethics and social justice, has taught and researched at universities andindustry in Australia, the Philippines and […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about a lady health worker being gang raped, allegedly by police personnel who have tried to pass themselves off as Frontier Corp personnel. The woman, a mother of five, was gang raped in front of her children and husband when she refused to stop […]

Since the Association of Southeast Asian Nations [ASEAN] established ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), on October 23, 2009, public expectations towards the promotion and protection of human right have increased significantly. Although ASEAN was established in 1967, in terms of development of the regional human rights mechanism, ASEAN lags behind the other regional human rights bodies, namely […]

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court affirmed the appellate court verdict of not guilty in relation to the five police officers accused in relation to the disappearance of Mr. Neelapaijit 11 years ago. The Supreme Court further held that the family could not be co-plaintiff as there was no conclusive evidence that Mr. Neelapaijit was dead […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the National Database and Registration authority (NADRA), a state regulatory body, has refused to renew the National Identification card of Dr. Shabbir Choudry, allegedly on the instruction of the intelligence agencies. Dr. Shabbir Choudry, a Pakistani citizen, is a well known intellectual of the Kashmiri […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding  death threats to a young man and his parents from religious fanatics for committing blasphemy while he was sitting for his annual examinations. The young man and his family are since hiding 2011.  A blasphemy case is pending in Court and he was 17 […]

by Avinash Pandey The mob bayed for the blood of juvenile convict of 16 December 2012 Delhi gang rape case. With the passage of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2015 in Rajya Sabha, it got the blood of India’s children on its hands. Yes, the JJ Bill has not much to […]

2015 Review: Seriously defective, policing, prosecution and justice systems obstructed progress towards “yahapalanaya” (Good Governance) Despite a welcome change of government, which started on 8th January 2015, the overall performance of the Government on the issue of its most important promise of ensuring “yahapalanaya” (Good Governance), by the end of the year, people have not witnessed […]

This is Just Asia’s final episode for 2015. It begins with a report from Sri Lanka and the long struggle for justice of a torture survivor. Rohitha Liyanage was after 10 years finally able to see the perpetrators tried and convicted for their crime. Two police officers tortured Rohitha so brutally that his leg was broken […]