ALL EPISODES

By Basil Fernando On the larger questions raised by the arrest of Tharindu Uduwaragedera, a young journalist of very wide reputation. Tharindu Uduwaragedera who was attending a meeting on Friday (28 July) for the purpose of reporting on the meeting was forcibly dragged out of a three-wheeler, grabbed by his hair and roughly manhandled by […]

26 June is celebrated worldwide as the UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. It is a day dedicated to the victims of torture and their families. But the Police, mostly in Asian countries and Nepal, rely on confessions rather than on conducting proper investigations. In order to eliminate the practice of torture, […]

This week Just Asia begins with Hong Kong, where continuing protests are seeing an increase in police violence. Video footage shows police firing tear gas in enclosed areas, keeping a bleeding protester on the ground, and using batons to hit fleeing protesters. One woman suffered a ruptured eye due to a fired bean bag round, […]

In this episode Just Asia begins with Hong Kong, where there have been new developments arising out of an attack at Yuen Long MTR station on ordinary citizens. A group of people wearing white shirts, generally believed to be thugs, attacked protesters and ordinary commuters with knives and batons on July 21st. The Hong Kong […]

This week Just Asia begins with Hong Kong, where protests are continuing over the government’s proposed extradition bill. Thousands gathered outside the Legislative Council headquarters on Wednesday, where the bill was meant to be discussed for the second time. While the protest began peacefully, towards the latter part of the day police resorted to using […]

This week Just Asia begins with India, where criminal disdain for human life was seen again in a blaze claiming 22 young lives in a coaching institution in Surat, Gujarat, one of the country’s wealthiest states. Many of the students, trapped on the fourth floor of a building with no fire exits, were burnt alive […]

This week Just Asia begins with Hong Kong, where clashes occurred at the legislature on Tuesday morning over vetting the controversial extradition bill. Opponents and supporters of the bill have been trying to lead the bills meeting after a split over the legitimacy of the temporary chairperson of the bills committee. Since Hong Kong’s government […]

This week Just Asia begins with Burma, where two Reuters reporters have been freed by a presidential amnesty. Wa Lone, 33 and Kyaw Soe Oo, 29 had spent more than 500 days in prison, after being convicted under the Official Secrets Act and sentenced to seven years in jail last September. Their jailing was seen […]

This week Just Asia begins with Hong Kong, where Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the government will not drop the controversial amendment to the territory’s extradition laws, despite 12,000 people marching against it last Sunday. The amendment allowing Hong Kong to extradite to other countries, including China, on a case by case basis, was to […]

This week Just Asia begins with the Philippines, where police shot dead 14 farmers in Negros island on Sunday. While rights groups called this a ‘massacre’, authorities said it was a legitimate operation against suspected communist rebels. According to the police, the 14 men shot at officers with search warrants for illegal firearms, prompting them […]

This week Just Asia begins with Pakistan, where two teenage Hindu girls were placed in a government shelter on Tuesday, after allegations of their forced conversion and marriages to Muslim men. The Islamabad High Court issued the protection order for the two sisters, saying it acted on a petition from them. Sindh police have so […]

This week Just Asia begins with a message of solidarity for the victims of the Christchurch shootings in New Zealand. In a cowardly act of terrorism, a lone gunman shot people attending Friday prayers at two mosques, with the death toll reaching 50. The Asian Human Rights Commission in its statement, noted that Prime Minister […]

This week Just Asia is marking its completion of 250 episodes. Since October 2013, AHRC TV’s news programme has been providing a weekly broadcast of human rights news. Just Asia is the first online news report of its kind in Asia, bringing together stories and cases from victims, activists, journalists and all those concerned with […]

This week Just Asia begins with Malaysia, which has become a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC) after signing the tribunal’s founding treaty Monday. Malaysia becomes the 124th member of the court since its establishment in 2002, a boost to the court, which has suffered several setbacks recently. The ICC is the world’s only […]

This week Just Asia begins with Sri Lanka, where investigations are ongoing into the abduction and murder of two businessmen from Rathgama. Until now, two police officers have already been arrested. Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department has revealed that the two businessmen, Manjula Asela and Rashin Chinthaka were abducted and murdered, and their bodies were […]

This week Just Asia begins with Bangladesh, where a fast-moving fire in the historic district of Chawkbazar in the country’s capital city of Dhaka has killed 78 persons and injured 55. The death toll and the number of victims is expected to increase as more bodies are found from the wreckage. The 400-year-old Chawkbazar district […]

This week Just Asia begins with Sri Lanka, where President Maithripala Sirisena told parliament last week that he was ready to bring back the death penalty for drug offenders within one or two months. The last hanging in Sri Lanka took place in 1976, since when there has been a moratorium on capital punishment. President […]

This week Just Asia begins with Pakistan, where the Supreme Court has rejected a challenge to the acquittal of Asia Bibi on blasphemy charges. After repealing her conviction and death sentence last October, the Court was petitioned by Islamists to review the acquittal. That petition was dismissed on Tuesday, and Asia Bibi is finally free. […]

This week Just Asia begins with the Philippines, where rights groups and opposition lawmakers have condemned a bill lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 9 years old. The bill was passed with a 9-1 vote on Monday. According to rights groups, the bill is “not in the best interest” of children, […]

This week Just Asia begins with India’s north eastern state of Tripura, where police opened fire without any warning against protesters on January 8. Two young men were shot in the chest and are in critical condition. They were peacefully protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016, which is seen as highly inimical to the indigenous peoples […]