Administration of justice

INDONESIA: A Grandma Forced to Stand Trial on Minor Criminal Charges

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding criminal charges brought against Grandma Asyani [63]. She allegedly stole teak wood belonging to the state forestry company, PT. Perhutani. Asyani is being tried in Situbondo District Court, East Java Province, Indonesia, and indicted for violating Law No. 18 of 2013 on Forest […]

INDONESIA: Dedek Khairuddin disappeared by Military; family remains in the dark

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the enforced disappearance of Mr. Dedek Khairuddin (30), a resident of Pangkalan Brandan Village, North Sumatra Province, Indonesia. Dedek was forcibly abducted from his home by seven soldiers, and has not been seen since. The government has not conducted serious efforts to locate […]

SRI LANKA: Police refuse to investigate the sudden death of woman

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that S. Premalatha and her husband P.K. Harishchandra are seeking justice in relation to the sudden death of their daughter P.K. Shivanthi Kumari (33) who died on 30 October 2013 at the National Hospital of Colombo (NHSL). They state that their daughter’s husband, a […]

INDIA: The missing link to fulfilling Ambedkar’s dream

Statement | India | 21-04-2015

Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, a social reformer and jurist, is the father of the Indian Constitution. Ambedkar, however, is better known and revered for his lifelong work against caste-based discrimination, which played a central role in bringing to the forefront the plight of untouchables in both pre-independent and post-colonial India. Today, 61 years after Ambedkar’s death, […]

BURMA/MYANMAR: Law being misused to prosecute peaceful protestors

The Asian Human Rights Commission has documented that an increasing number of peaceful protesters are being arrested and jailed under the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Act. Citing the maintenance of peace and tranquility in the country, and ensuring the upcoming 2015 election remain peaceful, authorities, especially Administrative Officers, have filed cases against numerous peaceful […]

PAKISTAN: State of Human Rights in 2014

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan launched its annual report “State of Human Rights in 2014″ Parliament made 10 laws, less than half the previous year’s 22. Nine presidential ordinances were promulgated. Some important laws passed by the parliament were designed to address security concerns, working of the judicial system, and issues related to terrorism, including the controversial […]

INDIA: Police attempt to abduct Adivasi Human Rights Defender Gambhira Prasad

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) regarding the abduction of a Human Rights Defender, Gambhira Prasad, allegedly by policemen wearing civilian clothes. Mr. Prasad was abducted at 7 p.m. on April 20, 2015, from Baba Chauraha in Allahabad District of Uttar Pradesh immediately after […]

SRI LANKA: A leading girl’s school in Colombo refuses to assist a Grade 8 student, with special needs

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about a child with special needs being unable to attend school as a result of a leading girl’s school in Colombo refusing to provide her with the necessary facilities. The child, since birth, has been unable to walk and needs a wheel chair to […]

SRI LANKA: Serious malnutrition among children, pregnant women and lactating mothers

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that surveys conducted by State and UN Agencies have indicated an alarming rate of malnutrition among children, pregnant women and lactating mothers in Sri Lanka. The Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) conducted by the Health Ministry of Sri Lanka in 2010, A Nutrition and […]

SRI LANKA: 19th Amendment to the Constitution: An Appeal to all Peoples Representatives in the Parliament

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward to you the following open letter from Sri Lankan Alumni and Professionals Association to Sri Lankan Members of Parliament. Sri Lankan Alumni and Professionals Association (SLAPA) represents the scholars and professionals of Sri Lankan origin, who are conscious of their indebtedness to the People of our […]

SRI LANKA: RTI; Giving with one hand and taking with the other!

An article from The Sunday Times written by Kishali Pinto Jayawardene forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Constitution-making exercises in Sri Lanka are generally a coyly deceptive dance of appearing to give much but actually conceding very little. And for too long, we have suffered from a peculiar obsession with keeping rights away from […]

SRI LANKA: The State must protect the right to education of children with special needs

Dear friends, The Monaragala Wellassa Subagya School, in the Monaragala District is a school providing education to children with special needs in several surrounding districts in the region. The school is administered under the Ministry of Social Services and the Ministry of Education. However, since April 2015, the administration of the school was vested solely […]

SRI LANKA: Negligence results in death of a patient

Dear friends, Mr. Manabalasingham Rajkumar (44) of Siriwardana Place, Munnakaraya, Negombo in Gampaha District is a fisherman. He was admitted to the Negombo Base Hospital for urgent medical treatment after having injured the 3rd finger of his right hand. After an X-ray, the doctors decided to do surgery on the finger. He was admitted to […]

PAKISTAN: Detention of Mohsin Ali and Kashif Khan Kamran without trial violates the Constitution and International law

Two persons, Mohsin Ali and Kashif Khan Kamran, have been in the illegal custody of Pakistan’s security agencies since 19 September 2011, i.e. for nearly four years now. They have not been produced before any court of law since their detention commenced. The people of Pakistan are aware that these two men were brought from […]

ประเทศไทย: สมาชิกสหพันธ์เกษตรกรภาคใต้ตกเป็นเป้าการลอบสังหาร

คณะกรรมการสิทธิมนุษยชนแห่งอาเซียน (AHRC) ได้ทราบว่าสมาชิกของสหพันธ์เกษตรภาคใต้ (สกต)  ในจังหวัดสุราษฎร์ธานียังคงถูกคุกคามต่อชีวิต   ถึงแม้ว่าจะมีคำตัดสินของศาลให้ทางสำนักงานปฏิรูปที่ดินเพื่อเกษตรกรรมเป็นผู้ชนะคดีเมื่อห้า เดือนที่แล้ว  โดยได้มีคำสั่งให้บริษัท จิว กัง จุ้ย พัฒนา จำกัด บริษัทปาล์มน้ำมันที่มีเจ้าของเป็นนักการเมืองต้องออกจากพื้นที่ที่พวกเขาได้ครอบครองโดยผิดกฎหมาย  แต่ว่าในทางปฏิบัติสิ่งนี้ยังไม่เกิดขึ้น    นอกจากนี้ยังปรากฏว่ามีความคืบหน้าเพียงเล็กน้อยจากการสอบสวนของเจ้าหน้าที่ตำรวจในคดีฆาตกรรมนายใช้ บุญทองเล็ก  นายใช้ถูกยิงเสียชีวิตเมื่อวันที่ 11 กุมภาพันธ์ 2558 ที่บ้านของเขาโดยมือปืนสองคนและนับเป็นสมาชิกคนที่สี่ของสกต ที่ถูกฆาตกรรมในช่วงเวลานี้   ทาง AHRC ยังได้ทราบว่าสมาชิกแกนนำคนอื่นๆ ของสกต ก็มีรายชื่ออยู่ในบัญชีที่จะมีการฆ่า เนื้อหาของคดี จากเหตุการณ์ต่างๆที่เกิดขึ้นอย่างต่อเนื่องได้เพิ่มความกดดันให้กับสมาชิกของสกต  โดยผู้มีอำนาจที่พยายามจะหยุดการทำงานของพวกเขา, การคุ้มครองความปลอดภัยของชุมชนและสิทธิในที่ดินทำกินในประเทศไทย โดยผ่านโฉนดชุมชน เมื่อวันที่ 17 มีนาคม 2558 นักข่าวจากสถานีโทรทัศน์ช่อง 11 พร้อมกับเจ้าหน้าที่ทหารกองทัพบกได้เข้าไปที่ชุมชนที่อยู่ใกล้กับชุมชนเพิ่มทรัพย์  จากการนำเสนอข่าวก่อให้เกิดความเข้าใจผิดว่าชุมชนดังกล่าวเป็นสมาชิกของชุมชนเพิ่มทรัพย์  ในการออกอากาศของการเข้าชุมชนในครั้งนี้ไม่ได้มีการสัมภาษณ์ชาวบ้านในชุมชนเพิ่มทรัพย์ที่แท้จริงเลยและได้มีการแสดงภาพของกลุ่มคนที่ไม่ได้อยู่ในชุมชนเพิ่มทรัพย์  หนึ่งในภาพที่ออกอากาศคือรูปของนายเพียรรัตน์  บุญฤทธซึ่งเป็นประธานสหกรณ์การเกษตรสหพันธ์เกษตรภาคใต้    นอกจากนี้ทางสกตก็ยังไม่ได้รับโอกาสในการโต้ตอบทางสถานีโทรทัศน์ใดๆ ในประเทศเพื่อตอบข้อกล่าวหาที่ทางสถานีโทรทัศน์ช่อง 11 ได้รายงาน   (https://youtu.be/e66TxR1OxDk) จึงเป็นไปได้ว่าทางสกตไม่สามารถที่จะตอบข้อกล่าวหาต่างๆ ที่เกิดจากการนำเสนอของนักข่าวช่อง 11 และจากทางเจ้าหน้าที่ทหารในการออกอากาศครั้งนั้น ต่อมาในวันพุธที่ 26 […]

[ Sinhala] ශ්‍රී ලංකාව: නෛතික යුක්තියේ පිරිහීම (සිව්වන කොටස)

එක්සත් ජාතීන්ගේ මානව හිමිකම් කොමිසම (UNHRC) විසින්, පොලිස් භාරයේදී සිදුවූ මරණයක් සඳහා පොලිසිය, වෝහාරිකව්‍යාධිවේදියා, නීතිපතිවරයා හා, නීති සහන සැලසීමට අසමත් වීමසම්බන්ධයෙන් ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණයද වැරදි බව සොයාගනියි බැසිල් ප්‍රනාන්දු 2015 අප්‍රේල් 1 වැනිදා එක්සත් ජාතීන්ගේ මානව හිමිකම් කොමිසම විසින් නිකුත් කරන ලද එක් නිර්ණයනයකින් හෙළි වන්නේ පොලිසිය, වෝහාරික ව්‍යාධිවේදියා, නීතිපතිවරයා සහ ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණය යන රජයේ ආයතන, 2003 ජූලි 26 වැනිදා මොරගහහේන පොලිසියේ සිදුවූ රැුකවරණ මනුෂ්‍ය ඝාතනයක් සම්බන්ධයෙන් අතිශයින්ම සාවද්‍ය බවයි. ප්‍රශ්නගත සිද්ධිය විමසා බැලීම සඳහා පහත සඳහන් කමිටු සාමාජිකයෝ සහභාගි වූහ: යාද් බෙන් […]

SRI LANKA: Deterioration of the legal intellect: (4) UNHRC finds fault with the police, the forensic pathologist, the Attorney General, and the Supreme Court

by Basil Fernando A determination issued by the United Nation’s Human Rights Committee on 1st April 2015, reveals extraordinary failures on the part of Sri Lankan State agencies – the police, the forensic pathologist, the Attorney General, and the Supreme Court – regarding a custodial death that took place at the Moragahahena Police Station on 26th July […]

INDIA: Dalit woman burned to death; accused roams free

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Baswadi Meghwal Samaj and Anusuchit Jati and Samasat Jan Sangharsh Samiti, Nagaur, Rajasthan, about a brutal attack on a Dalit family over a land dispute. The alleged perpetrator set the family home on fire; this resulted in the death of an elderly woman […]

THAILAND: Revoke the NCPO Order no. 3/2558 and stop invoking Section 44 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand (Interim), B.E. 2557 (2014)

A Statement from The Human Rights Lawyers Association (HRLA) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has issued Order no. 3/2558 concerning the maintenance of peace and national security, invoking Section 44 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand (Interim), B.E. 2557 (2014),[1] to replace Martial […]

INDONESIA: On Strengthening the Draft TRC Bill

An Open Letter from the Asian Human Rights Commission and KontraS to Mr. Yasonna Hamonangan Laoly, the Indonesian Minister of Law and Human Rights Mr. Yasonna Hamonangan Laoly Minister of Law and Human Rights Jalan H.R. Rasuna Said Kavling 6-7 Kuningan Jakarta 12940, INDONESIA Tel: +62 21 525 3004 Fax: +62 21 526 3082 Dear […]