Arbitrary arrest & detention

PAKISTAN: The government dodges the international community on civil and political rights

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the Occasion of the International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011 The full report is available for download at http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/hrreport/2011/AHRC-SPR-008-2011/view. The state has become dysfunctional in providing basic human rights to the people. Though the parliament exists it either cannot assert its constitutional duties or does not […]

SOUTH KOREA: Human Rights in 2011 – Systematic setup to restrict rights vs. systematic failure to protect rights

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the Occasion of the International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011 On the occasion of the International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011 the AHRC is publishing the annual report on the State of Human Rights in South Korea in 2011. The full report is available […]

BANGLADESH: State appears bankrupt in protecting rights

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the Occasion of the International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011 International Human Rights Day is going to be ‘observed’ in Bangladesh amidst numerous victims facing gross abuses of human rights without an access to legal remedies from the existing criminal justice system. On the eve […]

INDONESIA: AHRC launches human rights report on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day

(Hong Kong, December 07, 2011) On the occasion of the upcoming International Human Rights Day on December 10, 2011, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is launching its annual report on the State of Human Rights in Indonesia in 2011. The full report is available for download at http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/hrreport/2011/AHRC-SPR-006-2011/view. In the report, the AHRC witnessed a […]

INDONESIA: Human Rights in 2011 – The Decay of Pancasila and Constitutional Protections

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the Occasion of the International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011 On the occasion of the International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011 the AHRC publishes its annual report on the State of Human Rights in Indonesia in 2011. The full report will be made available […]

PAKISTAN: A Christian labourer arrested on blasphemy charges in an attempt to convert his girlfriend to Islam

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a young Christian labourer was arrested on the charges of burning papers of Quran, a Muslim holy book for making tea at home. He surrendered to the court arrest when he was informed that his nephew had been taken into custody by the […]

SRI LANKA: Concluding observations of the Committee against Torture

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following statement from the Committee against Torture at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- 1. The Committee considered the combined third and fourth periodic report of Sri Lanka (CAT/C/LKA/3-4) at its 1030th and 1033rd meetings, […]

SRI LANKA: Drunken police officers attempted to steal a motorbike and tortured the bike-owner after arbitrary detention

Dear friends, Mr. Chulani Thilakarathna, (50) of Ushani Plant Nursary, Dunkannawa, Naththandiya in Putthalam District was severely tortured, illegally arrested and detained by police officers attached to the Marawila Police Station on 17 Octorber 2011. The officers were drunk at the time of the incident and attempted to steal the victim’s motorbike. He was only […]

INDONESIA: New report reveals extent of Papua human rights violations; NGOs meet in Geneva to address their concerns on the situation of human rights in Papua

A Joint Statement by the Faith Based Network on West Papua (FBN), Franciscans International (FI), and the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) Geneva, 3 November 2011 Following last month’s violent dispersal by Indonesian security forces of the Third Papuan Peoples’ Congress in Jayapura, Indonesia has been confronted with the full scale of human rights problems […]

SRI LANKA: A young man was illegally arrested and severely tortured by the Wattegama Police

Dear friends, Mr. M.M. Kushantha Janaka Herath was illegally arrested, detained and severely tortured by officers of the Wattegama Police Station on 30 October 2011. Kushan was on his way home when he was stopped by three police officers who ordered him to submit to a search. Kushan voluntarily submitted showing the officers, who he […]

SRI LANKA: An innocent man was illegally arrested, tortured and laid with fabricated charges by the Ranagala Police

Dear friends, Mr. Sarath Keerthirathna (40) of No: 130, Nilgalla, Udispaththuwa in the Kandy District was illegally arrested and severely tortured by the police officers attached to the Ranagala Police Station on 15 October 2011. Sarath was arrested while he was at his sister’s house by two heavily inebriated police officers in civilian clothes and […]

PAKISTAN: Army and government officials remain silent to the demands for action against the alleged rapists of 16 year old girl

The Ansar Burney Trust announces that it will take responsibility for providing medical treatment to the victim for the safe delivery of the child and their protection In the case of 16-year-old Uzma Ayub, who was kept in illegal detention and repeatedly raped for a period of one year, the Pakistan army is keeping mysteriously […]

BURMA: Inexplicable continued imprisonment of innocent man for over 22 years

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been alerted to the case of a man who has been held in prison in Burma for over 22 years for a crime that he did not commit. Than Zaw was arrested with a number of other men and accused of a bombing in 1989. He […]

PAKISTAN: Taliban threaten the family of a gang rape victim, her lawyers are illegally detained and tortured by the perpetrators

Police officials accused of having, along with a soldier, gang-raped a 16 year-old girl for one year are now targeting the lawyers working with the victim. At the time of writing, four of her lawyers were abducted, kept in illegal detention, tortured and threatened to quit the case on different occasions. The resoluteness of the […]

PAKISTAN: A case of male lust and woman’s treatment as sexual commodity–a teenage girl was gang raped for one year by army and police officials

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a teenage girl was repeatedly raped by several persons in the captivity of army and police officials for almost one year. She was arrested by the police officers in the presence of an army officer and remained missing since then. She is now […]

NEPAL: Torture victim denied justice for nine years must be granted protection

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed that the 2002 torture case of Hom Bahadur Bagale will be heard by the Supreme Court on Monday, 31 October. This former police officer was tortured and illegally detained in 2002 for having refused to obey an illegal order from his superiors. Nevertheless, the […]

SRI LANKA: Udugama Police tortured an innocent man after illegal arrest and laid with fabricated charges

Dear friends, Mr. Henegoda Vithanachchige Gamini (41), of Udugama in the District of Galle was illegally arrested and severely tortured by the police officers attached to the Udugama Police Station on 16 June 2011. On that day when the officers asked him to accompany them he did so without hesitation as he was innocent. Regardless […]

SRI LANKA: Innocent man denied justice for eight years

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. Pathrage Don Jayathilaka (56) of Molkava, Baduraliya in Kalutara District was illegally arrested and severely tortured by the police officers attached to the Baduraliya Police Station on 21 October 2003. Then the police officers forced him to accepted crime of possession of […]

SRI LANKA: Innocent couple was illegally arrested, detained and tortured by the Kiribathgoda Police

Dear friends, On 13 August 2010, Mr. Suriyaarachchige Lakshman de Silva was illegally arrested, detained and severely tortured by the police officers attached to the Kiribathgoda Police Station. His wife, B.M. Ajantha Weerasinghe, was illegally arrested, detained and verbally abused. Lakshman, a painting contractor by profession, agreed to do a number of contracting tasks for […]

SRI LANKA: A man is illegally arrested, tortured and laid with fabricated charges by the Udugama Police

Dear friends, Mr. Sathira Dharshana Jayawickrama (22) of Manigawatta, Ketagoda, Udugama is single and a driver by profession. On 6 June 2011Sathira was arrested by police officers attached to the Udugama Police Station who severely tortured him. He was remanded for 42 days after the police filed a fabricated case against him. After he was […]