Arbitrary arrest & detention

The Chief Minister of West Bengal is once again in the news. This time the minister is critiqued for her comments on judicial corruption. However, if truth is the best defence, and if such a defence is bona fide, then in public interest none can blame the minister for her ‘expressing opinion.’ In fact, it […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. Mahalingam Sasikumar (34) of Maratha Madhu, Chettikulam in Mannar District has been in jail for more than three years without being charged. He was arrested by the Sri Lankan Army who accused him of aiding and abetting the Liberation Tigers of Tamil […]

The Free Cocoy Tulawie Movement is happy to announce the Decision of the Supreme Court dated July 3, 2012 which GRANTED the Petition for Certiorari and Prohibition filed by Temogen “Cocoy” Tulawie et.al. against Governor Sakur Tan for declaring the Province of Sulu in a State of Emergency last March 31, 2009. Penned by Associate Justice […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. Alexander Thayaparan was abducted by carders of the LTTE in 1991 and was only released after he lost his leg. At the closing of the civil war he and his family attempted to flee to safety but were arrested by the Sri […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that when Mr. Dadallage Ajith Kusumsiri (38) of No.113/1, ‘Sriya Niwasa’, Kandakatiya Aluth Para, Ratmalwala, Tangalle in Hambantota District attempted to make a complaint against threats and intimidation he found himself becoming the victim. He was tortured and forced to pay a bribe by […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. Don Prasanna Dilrukshana Aquinas Mallawaarachchi was falsely accused of having an extramarital affair and severely tortured by an Inspector of Police at the Mamunuwa Police Station. His mother and the lady he was accused of having the relationship with were also severely […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about the case of Mr. Riaz Fatyana, the chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights (PCHR), which highlights the mockery of the rule of law and the extent to which the police work at the whims of political opponents. Despite his position in […]

It is devastating for human rights activists the world over and those who stand for religious freedom, practise and tolerance, that the Government of Pakistan is not only stone deaf and dumb but also blind to the continuous murders of the followers of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. We have received the dreadful news that on […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received details of a case of a man who is currently being held in jail in upper Burma after being accused of connections with an armed group active in the region. According to witnesses, Lahtaw Brang Shawng is an ordinary villager displaced by civil conflict who […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from MASUM concerning the indefinite detention of a person after the completion of his sentence in Bangladesh. The victim in the case, Mr. Sahab alias Sahabuddin Seikh is a resident of New Sikarpur village under the jurisdiction of Murutia Police Station in Nadia district, […]

Basil Fernando The interview of the Defense Secretary Mr. Gotabaya Rajapakse with the editor of the Sunday Leader on the airlifting of a dog deserves comment not because of anything surprising contained in the interview. Its importance lies in its banality. It reveals something that has come to be quite common and ordinary in the […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed that nearly six months after the arrest and detention of Temogen “Cocoy” Tulawie, a human rights activist laid with fabricated murder charges, the court has not commence the trial. The court suspended the proceedings due to its own failure to conclude the victim’s petition […]

The Government of Bangladesh plans to immediately arrest members of human rights organisations and activists suspected of providing information for the Human Rights Watch Report “Bangladesh: Torture, Deaths of Jailed Mutiny Suspects”. The Asian Human Rights Commission has learned from reliable sources that there are discussions among some quarters in the Bangladesh government of arresting […]

Dear friends, Yesterday, it was reported by the official state-run media that 22 political prisoners have been released under the President’s amnesty. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding on the case of bombing in Pegu town (UAU-023-2012), of which eight of the accused victims were released. Additionally, Than Zaw (UAC-227-2011), […]

Basil Fernando In a previous article, SRI LANKA: The Supremacy of the national security apparatus, we discussed the issue of the Ministry of Defence being the most important institution in Sri Lanka, after the institution of the Executive President. This implies that the ministry is more important than the parliament and the judiciary within the new […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the passing down of long jail sentences on 11 people who were falsely accused in connection with a bombing in Pegu town during 2010. The innocent persons were brought to a special interrogation centre where they were tortured to confess and charged under […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the lukewarm attitude of the high court of Balochistan that ignored the petition on the abduction of a 75 year-old farmer by persons from the Frontier Corps (FC). The abducted person was an old political worker who left politics in 1975 but, being […]

From 24 to 48 – lengthening hours and pruning freedom In March, Aruna Roshantha (42), a labourer at a brick factory in Mugunuwatawana, Chilaw, resting near his brick kiln during his lunch break was randomly picked up by a cop and taken to a police van parked nearby. He was asked about a person who […]

Dear friends, According to information that the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received, a 26-year old man has disappeared following his arrest by a joint police team dispatched from the Central Investigation Bureau and the District Police Office, Mahotari on 6 May 2012. Mr. Ajit Kumar Lal Karna was allegedly arrested in connection with […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information concerning the illegal arrest, detention and custodial violence against three men in Murshidabad, West Bengal by police personnel of Salar Police Station. The victims are leaders of a local branch of the Indian National Congress party. While in the custody, the three victims were […]