Administration of justice

Human rights defender and philanthropic educator Shahed Kayes knew there were serious risks involved in his work. He had to, as nothing in Bangladesh comes without associated risks. He knew that his attempt to educate impoverished children from the low castes was unacceptable to the deeply entrenched local power structure and those at the top […]

By Sachin Kumar Jain By a magic wand unfurled by the Planning Commission, 84.9 million Indians have stopped to be poor between 2010 and 2012: they went through and soared above the poverty line pushed by the Indian Government. Until now, it was said of India as a nation of illiterate people; the Planning Commission […]

Impeaching the Chief Justice and Sri Lankan Politics By Upul Abeyrathne1 “All are accordingly bound by the necessity of keeping the law, unless perchance there is any who can be thought to have been given the license of wrong-doing. However, it is said that the prince absolved from obligations of the law, but it is […]

It was a very shivering news for the citizens of the country that a grandfather killed his grandchildren and thrown them from the roof top in presence of their mother who then killed by her father only for the protection of honour of the paternal family. The crime of the daughter was that she married […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) condemns the abduction and attack upon Mr. Shahed Kayes, a human rights defender working in Narayanganj district in Bangladesh. A group of persons abducted Mr. Shahed Kayes, a well-respected human rights defender, working in Narayanganj district of Bangladesh, yesterday, 25 July. The AHRC is informed that Kayes’ abductors, with […]

The president of Burma, or Myanmar, U Thein Sein in his recent visit to the United Kingdom has made a commitment that all political prisoners in his country will be released by the end of the year. According to him, a committee is continuing to review all relevant cases and determine those persons who are […]

(Hong Kong, 19 July, 2013) “If one innocent person is killed by [the] police or other security forces in a fake encounter, it creates tremendous upsurge of hatred…people always accurately know who was innocent. People even know whether an innocent person was killed by mistake or deliberately…” said the Commission of Inquiry constituted by the […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a petty businessman named Mr. Rizvi Hassan is detained in Chittagong Central Jail since 18 April 2013 in four criminal cases allegedly fabricated by the police. Rizvi was arrested by the police without any specific charge on 26 March 2013. Since then, the […]

It is heartening news that the government of Saudi Arabia, on the occasion of holy month of Ramadan, has released around 1500 prisoners who were involved in different crimes, including the smuggling of narcotics. Most of the prisoners released are from foreign countries, and a sizable numbers of Pakistanis are also on the list. The […]

Sachin Kumar Jain Perhaps, I may not arrive at any conclusions in this feature article. I am in a dilemma over the veracity of the data available on the state agriculture. Perhaps you could help me in this effort. Chances are you could be befuddled as me on the matter! In 2012 Madhya Pradesh government […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that several Pakistani citizens currently incarcerated in Damman Prison in Saudi Arabia face death by beheading for allegedly trafficking drugs into Saudi Arabia. The Pakistanis in question, all hailing from poor families, were in fact forced to carry the drugs. In some cases the […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from a local NGO, the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), regarding the fabrication of charges and torture committed by the police against a 72-year old man and his two sons. The innocent men were falsely charged, tried and sentenced to […]

A Joint Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission and Odhikar A survivor of torture, relatives of a survivor and of two victims of death, who were tortured to death in police custody, have shared their gruesome experiences in a People’s Tribunal today, June 26, 2013, in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Bangladeshi human rights group Odhikar, in collaboration with the […]

INR 17, or approximately 30 cents in USD, is what an average poor spends a day in rural India. Their urban friends are no better off either; they have to content with spending INR 27 for seeing a day off. Adjust that amount for the cost of living in urban centres and they are just […]

“Out of 4835 Members of Parliament and Members of the Legislative Assembly analysed, 1448 members or 31% have declared criminal cases against them in a self sworn affidavit filed with the Election Commission of India.” This alarming statistic is taken from a report conducted in 2012 by the Association for Democratic Reforms in India (full […]

India prides itself as a government “of the people, for the people, and by the people”, worthy of praise for being a rare model of democracy in the region. Yet, the government is criticised as the perpetrator of injustice upon the very people whose rights it is to protect. Even though India is a resource-rich […]

A Statement from a group of civil society actors in India against the ostracisation of Mr. Harsh Mander, by the Chief Minister of Gujarat forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission New Delhi 12 June 2013 With great pride, we would like to put on record that the work of our colleague and friend Mr. […]

“The next day at 9 am the same three police officers took him back to the Crime Branch and told him to sign a document which was already prepared. He signed it due to fear of further ill-treatment but affirms that he had no knowledge of the contents of the document. The officers then took […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received further information regarding several elderly women living in destitution in the Palash Bari area of the Gaibandha district of the Rangpur division. As in the earlier cases reported by the AHRC, most of the victims have no one to look after them and are physically […]

“It was in her fate to die this way”, these shameful words were said by a mother after she threw acid on her own daughter. These are the words used commonly by many families in Pakistani society in order to justify their actions and take shelter in this orthodox society. This incident took place in […]