Arbitrary arrest & detention

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 […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from MASUM concerning the illegal arrest, detention and torture of Mr Jalil Sardar and Mr Ramjan Tarafdar by personnel from Swarupnagar Police Station, Baduria Police Station and Kaijuri BSF Camp. Unlawful arrest and detention, torture, religious discrimination, fabrication of charges and a culture of […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a doctor who helped the American forces to locate Osama Bin Laden, the former chief of the Al-Qaida terrorist group in Pakistan, was illegally arrested and tortured to confess that he was working as a spy for the USA. He was held incommunicado […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. Jesuthasan Tennisan Leon (27) has been detained in Boossa Detention Camp for more than six months without being produced before any court by the state authorities. Leon was abducted by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2001, a period when […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from MASUM concerning another case of police brutality by personnel of Raninagar Police Station, under the captaincy of Sub-Inspector Nilanjan Roy of Raninagar Police Station, against 19-year-old Golam Mujtuba and a few of his friends from Char Majhardiar Village. Such impunity on the part […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from MASUM concerning another case of illegal arrest, detention and police brutality against Mr Golam Kibria from Murshidabad district, West Bengal, India. This is yet another in a seemingly infinite number of cases wherein law enforcement agencies due to ingrained malpractices and callous attitudes have […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding intimidation from the Islamic Defenders Front (Front Pembela Islam, FPI) towards Ahmadiyah in Batam. Short after the religious minority group held its Friday prayer on 27 April 2012, the FPI came to Nagoya building (Ruko Nagoya) where the group members regularly hold its […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from MASUM concerning a case of the extended and illegal detention of three Indian nationals in Bangladesh past the completion of the jail term passed by the Senior Judicial Magistrate of Kushtia, who had also ordered their release and repatriation upon fulfilment of that […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from MASUM concerning another case of police brutality by personnel of Habra Police Station in West Bengal, India, of 28-year old Mr Raju Chowdhury of Kamarthuba, West Bengal, India. Mr Chowdhury’s extended and unjust detention and brutalisation since 9 January 2012, as is the […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. N A Aruna Roshantha (42) of Mugunuwatawana, Chilaw in the district of Puttalam was illegally arrested, detained, brutally tortured and laid with fabricated charges. On 24 March 2012, he returned home for lunch as it was his custom. When returning to work […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a 29-year-old Bhutanese refugee, Jit Bahadur Subba, having applied for third country resettlement was arrested from the office of the International organization for Migrant on 27 April 2012. After his arrest, he was kept in illegal detention for two days without receiving any […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned about the arbitrary detention of five persons, including a minor, in Nueva Ecija province. The victims were illegally arrested, laid with criminal charges based on evidence taken from a search conducted under questionable circumstances. The charges have no real evidence to support the prosecution […]

On Tuesday, May 8, a judge in Rangoon will read the verdicts in four cases brought against a young engineer, Phyo Wai Aung, for alleged involvement in a bombing attack of 15 April 2010 that killed 10 people, seriously wounded 46 and injured 27 others. The trial started on 30 June 2010. Until the end […]

The attempt by the Supreme Court of India to draw-up operative principles for the media outlining the contours of Article 19 (1) (a) of the constitution is an exercise that the Court should not venture into. In fact, the Court does not have a constitutional mandate to do so. It is within the realm of […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a key witness in a fundamental rights case filed against the Office-in-Charge of the Wadduwa Police Station was illegally arrested and was later killed while in the custody of that station. The son of the deceased witnessed his father lying on the floor of […]

Nilantha Ilangamuwa  Let each man say what he deems truth, and let truth itself be commended unto God! – Gotthold Ephraim Lessing The traditional New Year 2012 (Buddhist Era 2555/2556), which was celebrated last week, has been brought to the people through the broken window of the White Van, which symbolizes the machinery of the […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. Thankshanamoorthy Selvakumar (24) of Algultenna Division, Alkaduwa in Matale District has been detained for 3 years and 8 months on false accusations that he has participated in terrorist activities. After the illegal arrest and interrogation of several Tamil youths Mr. Selvakumar was […]