Administration of justice

by Kishali Pinto Jayawardene For those of us privileged, (if I may be forgiven the sarcasm), to witness the live Parliamentary telecast of Tuesday’s committee stage process on the 19th Amendment, the raucous scenes were beautifully illustrative of the mockery that passes for lawmaking in Sri Lanka today. Arrogance and ill intent combined For the […]

බාගෙට හැදූ නිවසක් තුළ පට්ටානි රසීක්ගේ මළ සිරුර වළ දැමීම බැසිල් ප‍්‍රනාන්දු විසිනි වාලච්චේනේ උඞ්ඩමාවෙලි ප‍්‍රදේශයේ දුර බැහැර ගම්මානයක බාගෙට නිම කළ නිවසක් තුළ පට්ටානි රසීක්ගේ සිරුර වළ දැමීම  ඕනෑම රහස් පරීක්ෂකයෙකුගේ පරිකල්පනය දල්වන සිද්ධියකි. කෙසේ නමුත් 2010 ජූලි 28 වැනිදා ඔහුගේ මළ සිරුර සොයාගැනීමෙන් පසුව මේ සිද්ධිය ද වළ දමා තිබේ. අද දක්වා ද […]

by Basil Fernando  The discovery of the body of Pattini Razeek buried under a half-built private house, in a remote village on Uddamaveli, in Valaichchenai, would have flared up the imagination of any detective. However, despite of the discovery on 28th July 2010, the case itself, remained buried till to date. Mr Pattini Razeek who […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has initiated a series of articles on the proposed Prevention of Electronic Crime Act, 2015; this is the third article in the series. The Bill has draconian provisions that seek to muzzle the freedom of expression and speech over the Internet to discourage dissent and stifle intellectual discourse. The Bill […]

In this week’s Roundup, AHRC TV begins with a live report on the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Nepal. AHRC’s representative Shiva Hari Gyawali is on the ground in Kathmandu, where thousands have perished and assistance has still not reached some of the more remote areas situated close to the epicentre of the powerful quake […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of human lives in Nepal. It is a moment of unprecedented tragedy; the devastation of human lives and property is heartbreaking. This is again a testing time for the Nepal government. The series of aftershocks have created an environment of fear. Even people whose […]

The passing of the Amendment 19A, is a step towards undermining the authoritarian constitutional structure imposed on Sri Lanka through the 1978 Constitution.  This together with the appointment of a new Chief Justice in Sri Lanka constitute two important steps towards creating a greater space for interventions of people in order to protect their dignity […]

A Statement from NGO Federation of Nepal, forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Nepal is reeling under crisis since 25 April 2015 after it was hit by 7.9-magnitude tremor and several aftershocks.  The earthquake death toll has crossed 5,000 according to the Armed Police Force data provided to the National Emergency Operation Center. The […]

Dear Friends, According to information received by the Asian Human Rights Commission, Mr. Benedict Selvaraj, a mason living in Hantana Estate, Kandy has been assaulted, arrested and threatened with torture by police officers attached to the Crime Branch of the Kandy Police. Benedict has been arrested and later assaulted during a church procession in full […]

by Javeria Younes The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has initiated a series of articles on the proposed Prevention of Electronic Crime Act, 2015; this is the third article in the series. The Bill has draconian provisions that seek to muzzle the freedom of expression and speech over the Internet to discourage dissent and stifle intellectual […]

Bangladesh has witnessed one more fake election yesterday, 28 April 2015. The process of electing people’s representatives to the City Corporations of Dhaka and Chittagong has been marked by fraudulence. Rigging and ballot stuffing by ruling party cadres, polling officers, and law-enforcement agents reigned all across the two cities, as witnessed by human rights defenders […]

An Open Letter from Promoting human rights, peace and democracy in Indonesia (Tapol) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) Mr Joko Widodo  President of the Republic of Indonesia Jl. Veteran No. 16 Jakarta Pusat INDONESIA Tel: +62 21 3458 595 Fax: +62 21 3484 4759 29 April 2015 Dear Mr President, I am […]

Stating that the passing of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution marked a major stride for democracy, Lawyers Collective urges all political parties to use the next general election to obtain a fresh mandate to abolish the Executive Presidency fully in an appropriate manner. Lawyers Collective expressed their disappointment at the attempt by few MPs […]

by Basil Fernando  Last week, 23 April 2014, the television programme ‘Sathyagaraya’ – a Sinhala language programme telecast by the Independent Television Network (ITN) and produced by Upul Shantha Sannasagala – broadcast a long conversation with Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasignhe. Our concern in this article, is about one particular question raised by the producer, Mr […]

An Open Letter from the Asian Human Rights Commission to President of the Republic of Indonesia, Mr. Joko Widodo Mr. Joko Widodo  President of the Republic of Indonesia Jl. Veteran No. 16, Jakarta Pusat, INDONESIA Tel: +62 21 3458 595 Fax: +62 21 3484 4759 E-mail: webmaster@setneg.go.id Dear President Widodo: INDONESIA: Reconciliation Task Force cannot replace […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the imminent execution of a mentally ill man, who was tried and convicted on illegal drugs charges in Indonesia. Rodrigo Gularte has a long history of severe mental illness, dating back long before his arrest, and he continues to suffer from paranoid schizophrenia. […]

An article from the Friday Forum forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission The 1978 Constitution of our country has a passage in its Preamble which refers to the obligations of parliamentarians elected by the People. It says that “WE THE FREELY ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PEOPLE OF SRI LANKA, in pursuance of the mandate, […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the imminent execution of a Filipina migrant worker. She was unwittingly used as a drug mule by her employer and now faces execution by a firing squad. Mary Jane Veloso is a 30 year old mother of two, exploited by an international drug […]

Dear Friends, According to information received by the Asian Human Rights Commission, Mr. P. Somadasa and his wife of Palalla, Weligama Police Division, Matara District are being denied their rights. Officers attached to the Weligama Police Station have refused to investigate their complaints about alleged crimes having been committed against their person and property and […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) joins the world in grieving the deaths and loss of property in Nepal after the massive earthquake that has hit Nepal today at 11:50 am Nepali time. The 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck 80 km east of Pokhara in Nepal has devastated the country causing human casualties and other damages […]