Administration of justice

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information of an 8-year-old boy who was recently kidnapped, sold, and by chance rescued. However, by willfully neglecting their responsibilities, the court, the police, and the Probation Department have returned the boy to the very same vulnerable environment that saw the boy being kidnapped and […]

A statement made in court by the driver of a movie actor has again exposed the abundant opportunities for exploitation of the criminal justice process in India; defending his employer, the driver has stated it was the driver, not the actor, behind the wheel when the vehicle sped out of control, killing a person sleeping […]

by Basil Fernando Geekiyanage Premalal De Silva filed a Petition in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka in 1989 alleging that some officers of the Panadura Police arrested him in May 1989, without a warrant, on a false charge of robbery and that he was tortured and subjected to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment while in […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. J M Piyathilaka, who is a social activist and a member of the Justice of the Peace (JP.), was assaulted in public by three people at a restaurant at Jaffna Junction in Anuradhapura on 21 February 2015. He lodged a complaint at Police […]

A Statement from Thai Lawyers for Human Rights forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission It was reported on 27 March 2015 that Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha is about to invoke Section 44 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand (Interim), B.E. 2557 (2014), to replace the Martial Law Act B.E. 2457 (1914). The undersigned […]

A Press Release from Survival International forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) A tribal leader in one of India’s tiger reserves is fearing for his safety after a wildlife official urged his community to beat him and drive him out for defending their right to remain on their land. Telenga Hassa, a Munda […]

An article from the Kathmandu Post, written by Kanak Mani Dixit forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission The Teaching Hospital at Maharajganj is presently dealing with two fasts-unto-death, one, which has already seen its tragic and terrifying finale and another that is ongoing. Nanda Prasad Adhikari died 187 days ago while on a second-time […]

by Basil Fernando  The discovery of the bodies of four members of the same family in Wennapuwa on 1 January 2015 is one of the gravest crimes reported in recent times. The victims of these horrific murders were a dental surgeon attached to the Lunuwila Hospital, her husband who was a businessman, their 13-year-old son, […]

By Avinash Pandey  The Supreme Court’s scrapping of Section 66 A of the Information Technology Act for being “unconstitutional in entirety” is indeed a great moment in the life of the democracy. The Act did, in fact, invade citizenry’s right of free speech “arbitrarily, excessively and disproportionately”. However, is this really a moment to celebrate […]

One of the promises of Mr. Maithripala Sirisena, as common candidate at the last presidential election, was the elimination of corruption, i.e. something the last government was steeped in. Elimination of corruption is therefore a major objective of his newly elected government. His catchwords were Yaha palanaya (good governance), which itself implies radical elimination of corruption. Today, […]

In this week’s Roundup, AHRC TV covers stories from Burma, the Philippines, and Pakistan. Police and mob violence against peaceful demonstrators in Burma has sown doubt about the democratisation process in the country. AHRC TV talks to several people on the ground about recent crackdowns in Rangoon and Letpadan and whether police are continuing to […]

Students and their supporters detained in Tharawaddy Prison continue to be denied access to lawyers. In addition, the authorities have refused medical assistance for the detainees that are injured. Thus, the government continues its persecution of the Burmese students who have taken a stand against the government’s plan with respect to education. The background to […]

March 24 marks the fifth annual International Day for the Right to Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims. The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed this day in 2010 to honor the memory of victims and recognize the work of countless human rights activists around the world who have devoted […]

Many, including President Barack Obama, have been paying glowing tributes to Lee Kuan Yew since the announcement of his death this morning, 23rd March 2015. However, recalling what Lee Kuan Yew did to Dr. Chia Thye Poh and many other persons who aspired for multi-party democracy and respect for the freedom of expression in Singapore […]

Arrest brings humiliation, curtails freedom and cast scars forever. Law-makers know it so also the police. There is a battle between the law-makers and the police and it seems that the police has not learnt its lesson; the lesson implicit and embodied in the Cr.P.C. It has not come out of its colonial image despite […]

With the people Sri Lanka ousting the Mahinda Rajapaka regime, a path opened for Sri Lanka to return to the rule of law. The 1978 Constitution masterminded by J.R. Jayewardene, of which Mahinda Rajapaksa took full advantage, was aimed at completely displacing governance by rule of law in Sri Lanka.  Therefore, it is a fair […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that human body parts have been found scattered in several parts of Sri Lanka between 14th March and 18th March 2015.  Dematagoda, Nawala, and Diyawanna Oya near Parliamentary Complex are the sites in Colombo where the body parts have been found. Yatiyantota and the […]

by Avinash Pandey While the whole country was celebrating Holi, a joyous festival of colours, three farmers that were contemplating suicide in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh went ahead and took their own lives. One of them, wearing the same colour soaked dress he had celebrated the festival in, hung himself to a tree. […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information, that a business couple from Meetiyagoda, in the Galle District, had been brutally murdered in broad daylight, in cold blood by a criminal gang. Previously, they repeatedly lodged complaints with the police requesting an investigation and protection from the criminal actions of these gangs. […]

8th March is celebrated across the world as the international women’s day, yet many women in Pakistan remain oblivious to the significance of this day. In 2014, the World Economic Forum ranked Pakistan as the second worst country in the world in gender equality. The report measured the size of gender inequality in 142 countries in […]