Administration of justice

BURMA/MYANMAR: Father of girl killed by military prosecuted for complaint to human rights commission

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received detailed information about a case brought by the army in Burma against a man who lodged a complaint over the death of his daughter. According to the complaint of BrangShawng to the national human rights commission, his teenage daughter was killed when a soldier shot […]

PHILIPPINES: Immediately relocate the victims of demolition drive in Quezon City

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about allegedly illegal demolition of around 120 houses in Florentino St., Sto. Domingo, Quezon City on April 10-11, 2013. The information sent to the AHRC by Barangay Sto. Domingo Settlers Association through Defend Jobs Philippine asserts that the demolitions were carried out in violation […]

SRI LANKA: Officers of the Karandeniya police torture and threaten to sodomize businessman, insulting him about his ‘low’ caste origin

Several police officers from the Karandeniya police illegally arrested Chandila Padmakumara Gurusinghe of Kiripedda, Babuwo Kanda, Karandeniya in Galle District, apparently on the instigation of a cinnamon trader. He was arrested without being informed of the reason for his arrest and he learned it only after he was brought to the police station by listening […]

PAKISTAN: The Council of Islamic Ideology intends to complete the elimination of the religious minorities

The Council of Islamic Ideology in Pakistan held a meeting on May 29, headed by Maulana Sherani, and warned that if the blasphemy laws are amended, the country’s minorities will be unsafe, but how much worse could the situation get? Minorities have been suffering since these laws were introduced by General Zia Ul Haq in […]

BURMA: Innocent man was sentenced life imprisonment for alleged bomb plot

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about the case of a young man whom the authorities in Burma have accused of involvement in a bombing nearby government offices. Police alleged that Kyaw Swa Lin was involved merely because he was found to have a diary in his house with some […]

PHILIPPINES: Another two falsely charged activists to be arraigned for robbery tomorrow

Dear friends, Further to our earlier appeal, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed that two of the co-accused in a fabricated charge of robbery which included 31 human rights and political activists will be arraigned tomorrow, May 28, 2013. UPDATED INFORMATION: In our previous appeal (AHRC-UAC-152-2012), we mentioned that 31 human rights […]

PAKISTAN: Stop factories from becoming slaughterhouses of workers

A Press Release from National Trade Unions Federation Pakistan forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) Karachi, May 24: The governments and International Brands are directly responsible for the gory incidents in Ali Enterprises Baldia Karachi and garment factories of Dhaka, Bangladesh, as their criminal negligence resulted in loss of lives of thousands of […]

PAKISTAN: A Historical Overview of Blasphemy Laws

The Asian Human Rights Commission wishes to inform you about the research based report on historical overview of Blasphemy laws in Pakistan the Blasphemy published by Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), Islamabad. The research was compiled by Mr. Nafees Muhammad, a writer and research fellow. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has the […]

INDIA: What else was expected other than Sanaullah’s murder?

Statement | India | 09-05-2013

Children are conceived, some born, others grow, and many die in Indian prisons. There is nothing particular about this, since such incidents happen in prisons across the world. However, what is unique to India is that custodial violence, of which many resulting in deaths, is no more news. Yet, the assault upon Mr. Sanaullah Ranjay, […]

INDIA: Have the judges gone insane?

Article | India | 07-05-2013

Insanity is defined as “doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” Albert Einstein said this. Applying this definition, to the predicament and expectation of the Supreme Court of India, one may argue that judges in India are at the threshold of being termed ‘insane.’ (File Photo: Supreme court of India) In […]

BANGLADESH: A massacre of demonstrators

News reports from Bangladesh allege that a series of attacks on demonstrators have taken place, at around 3am today, May 6, 2013. The extent of the injuries and death is difficult to be ascertained at the moment. The Daily Star, a Bangladeshi newspaper, gave the figure of deaths as 5. However, several internet reports have mentioned that the […]

INDIA: Only a comprehensive food security law can eradicate hunger in India, not this piecemeal bill

(Hong Kong, May 06, 2013) The Asian Human Rights Commission endorses the following Press Note issued by the Right to Food Campaign. The AHRC urges the government of India to amend the food security bill and accommodate the changes if it is serious about tackling large-scale hunger and malnutrition plaguing the country. Following is the […]

SRI LANKA: The caste base of our cultural roots

Reconciliation has not been treated as an attractive word in Sri Lanka. The government’s view is that forgetting is the best course available. It argues that reconciliation attempts could reopen the wounds and will do more harm than good. Officially therefore, the government policy is to encourage forgetting. This policy does not come under serous […]

NEPAL: Ensure tapped water supply to Dalits of Duma in Mugu district

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding chronic water shortage plaguing the lives of Dalit residents of Duma village in Mugu district of Nepal during a field visit undertaken together with colleagues from FIAN Nepal. In absence of tapper water supply to their village, they have to fetch their water […]

SRI LANKA: Seven-year-old Pushpakumara’s murder and the link between lawlessness and perversity

Basil Fernando A seven-year-old child, Pushpakumara Wijekoon from Kegalle, went to school as usual and left around 1 pm. He walked to the junction where his father usually picked him up on his cycle to bring him home. As the child did not see his father, he started walking back home. The distance was about […]

BANGLADESH: Attorney General Attacks Family’s Right to Represent Prisoners

On 18 April 2013, the Attorney General for Bangladesh Mr. Mahbubey Alam participated in the hearing of a writ petition before a High Court Division Bench of the Bangladesh Supreme Court. The writ was filed by Mrs. Firoza Mahmud, wife of Daily Amardesh‘s Interim Editor Mahmudur Rahman. Mrs. Mahmud had challenged the order of the Chief […]

ASIA: Professional independence of judges and lawyers central to the protection and promotion of human rights, the rule of law and democracy in Asia

Statement | Asia | 15-04-2013

The following is a statement issued by a group of Asian jurists, who met from 9-11 April in Bangkok, to discuss about threats to professional freedom of lawyers and the independence of the judiciary in Asia. Jurists from Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Burma, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, South Korea, Vietnam, and Hong Kong attended […]

PAKISTAN: The street children have the right to survival and protection from abuse and exploitation

Amir Murtaza The International Day for Street Children is celebrated every year on 12th April. The Street Children Day was launched in 2011 by the Consortium for Street Children (CSC) to create a broader awareness about the issue of street children all around the world. The Consortium for Street Children (CSC) is the leading international […]

PAKISTAN: The stupidity of the Ideology of Pakistan

The most popular slogan during the movement for the creation of Pakistan was, “Haath main lota munh main paan — laiker rahain gay Pakistan”, believe it that this was the ideology of Pakistan It was on March 25, 1969, when General Yahya Khan imposed another period of Martial Law by sending General Ayub Khan home […]

INDIA: An association for families victimised of extrajudicial execution

Statement | India | 05-04-2013

The present case appears to be one where two persons along with some others were just seized from a hut, taken to a long distance away in a truck and shot there. This type of activity cannot certainly be countenanced by the courts even in the case of disturbed areas. If the police had information […]