Arbitrary arrest & detention

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the occasion of Human Rights Day In Sri Lanka, what remains widespread in political, social, and cultural life is widespread shameless impunity relating to every form of abuse of human dignity and human rights. This widespread shameless impunity is also widespread in the entirety of the […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding officials from the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), Punjab, having raided the headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Community, a minority religious group, declared non-Muslim by the Constitution. During the raid, the officers manhandled and tortured persons, made four arrests, registered cases against 9, and confiscated […]

An oped from the myRepublica forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Earlier this month Nepal marked 10th anniversary of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which ended the decade-long armed conflict in 2006. Since then a new constitution has been promulgated and former combatants have been reintegrated into the society while some also joined security […]

This week, in its 150th episode, Just Asia begins with Burma, where the crackdown on the Rohingya may amount to ‘crimes against humanity’, says UN’s human rights agency. Since October, the Burmese military have been burning Rohingya homes, shooting people and raping women. According to John McKissick of the UN refugee agency, the government’s “ultimate […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the enforced disappearance of a veteran Sindhi Nationalist leader, Ustaad Muhammad Rahimoon, who was arrested from his home. Since his arrest by a contingent of Pakistan Rangers on November 23, his whereabouts are unknown.  A freedom fighter, Rahimon is today a heart […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) strongly condemns the Nepal Police who arrested Dr. C. K. Raut and more than two hundred supporters of his campaign. They came from different districts of Nepal’s Terai. Excessive force was used. Illegal arrests were made. By contrast, Dr. Raut and his supporters were commemorating 25 November (Mangsir 10, […]

We, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), the Peoples’ Network of Salween River, the Hatgyi dam affected communities, and the Foundation for environment and natural resources demand the Salween dam plan to stop immediately. We realise that the planned dam on the Salween River is causing tension between armed groups and slowing down the peace […]

Bangkok-Dhaka-Geneva-Paris-Quezon City, 29 November 2016 – Kashmiri human rights defender Mr. Khurram Parvez remains in arbitrary detention, despite a High Court order declaring his detention illegal and ordering his release. Our organisations are appalled at this abuse of power and demand the immediate and unconditional release of Khurram Parvez. Last Friday 25 November 2016, the High Court […]

Mr. Khurrum Parvez is a human rights defender, the chairperson of Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances, working in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. On 14 September 2016, the immigration officers stationed at the international airport in New Delhi, prevented Parvez from leaving the country. Khurrum had arrived at the airport to travel to Geneva […]

This week Just Asia begins with Burma, where satellite evidence shows mass destruction in Rakhine state, home to the persecuted Muslim Rohingya minority. The latest images from Human Rights Watch indicate that some 820 structures were burnt in five villages between November 10-18. The rights watchdog is calling for an urgent UN investigation into the […]

By Basil Fernando When the high level delegation of Sri Lanka met the UN Committee against Torture (CAT Committee) last week on the 5th Periodic Review, one of the Committee members raised an important issue. The Member asked whether the dysfunctionality of the justice system in Sri Lanka has virtually created a situation of a de facto […]

Paris-Geneva-Hong-Kong, November 24, 2016 – After 1,322 days in arbitrary detention, journalist Mr. Mahmudur Rahman has been finally released on bail this afternoon. The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (FIDH-OMCT) and the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) welcome his long-overdue release, and urge authorities to drop all pending charges against him. Acting […]

A Statement from Network Against Killings in the Philippines (NAKPhilippines) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission There has been an epidemic of summary killings and extrajudicial executions across the Philippines for decades now. From 1998 to December 2015, a total of 1,424 were documented to have been killed by the so-called Davao Death Squad […]

A Joint Statement Calling for the Release of Maria Chin Abdullah, Chairperson of BERSIH2.0 We, the May18 Memorial Foundation and the Laureates of the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights, are deeply alarmed by the detention of Maria Chin Abdullah, the Chairperson of BERSIH2.0 by the Malaysian Police. BESIH2.0 is the 2016’s Laureates of the Gwangju […]

A Press Release from Network Against Killings in the Philippines (NAKPhilippines) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC). NAKPhilippines Says Duterte Has Brought Human Rights Crisis to New, More Dangerous Level (MANILA, Nov. 22, 2016) – The Philippine government should hold accountable members of law enforcement agencies implicated in the extrajudicial killings of civilians […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding regular shelling between India and Pakistan at the Line of Control (LoC) near villages in border areas of Jammu and Kashmir. In recent days, dozens of unarmed civilians have lost lives and many more have been injured, with some disabled for life. […]

This week Just Asia begins with Pakistan, where terrorist attacks continue despite the Pakistan army’s various anti-terror operations. In the latest attack, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the crowded courtyard of Sufi Saint Shah Noorani’s shrine on November 12, killing some 60 persons and injuring 156. The Shah Noorani shrine in Balochistan’s Hub […]

A Statement from the International Peace Observers Network (IPON) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission. The International Peace Observers Network (IPON) expresses its deep concern about the precarious security situation and the continuing criminalization of human rights defenders (HRD) in the Philippines. Against this background, IPON welcomes the decision of the German Member of […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding two student activists who have been arrested in Chaiyaphum province, north eastern Thailand, for distributing anti-constitution flyers. According to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), the Phu Khiao Provincial Court postponed an evidence examination session. This is due to the fact that […]

Dear Friends, The Terai Human Rights Defenders Alliance (THRDA) has informed the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) that Bijuli Prasad Mahaut (31), resident of ward number 1, Khajurakhurd Village Development Committee (VDC) of Banke District, and Tirath Ram Harijan (30), resident of ward number 9, Indrapur VDC, of Banke District, have been illegally arrested, been […]