Arbitrary arrest & detention

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that two men were detained for four days by the police without charge or legal record, and beaten severely each day to elicit bribes. The men were then confronted with fabricated charges and released only after they paid large fines. The debt has caused one […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that two indigenous Papuans have died and three others have been injured after the unrestrained use of lethal fire arms by the Mobile Brigadier (Brimob) Unit of Papua Regional Police on 9 April 2009 in Abepura, Papua, Indonesia. The wounded were arrested and taken to […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the detention and abduction of Sinnavan Stephen Sunthararaj, a human rights defender based in Jaffna, in Sri Lanka’s north, and is gravely concerned for his safety. Sunthararaj was abducted at gunpoint in front of his family by uniformed men less than three […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that four children were illegally arrested under the blasphemy laws on January 28, 2009. They are in dangerous health conditions in the jail and their parents are not allowed to visit them according to jail policy. One, Mohammad Irfan son of Mukhtar Ahmed, 15 […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concern over the delay in the conclusion of the investigation into the deaths of two farmers who were last seen alive taken by soldiers in Sta. Catalina, Negros Oriental on 2 February 2009. Their dead bodies had been discovered when the investigators exhumed a gravesite […]

[NOTICE: The AHRC has developed this automatic letter-sending system using the “button” below. We encourage you to send your appeal letters via fax or post to them. Fax numbers and postal addresses of the Pakistan authorities are attached below with this appeal. Thank you.]  Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information […]

Dear friends,  Last week the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) issued an appeal on the case of two journalists jailed in Burma for trying to help people left homeless after Cyclone Nargis to visit international agencies. In this appeal we bring the case of another journalist jailed in Burma, in his case for taking video […]

[NOTICE: The AHRC has developed this automatic letter-sending system using the “button” below. We also encourage you to send your appeal letters via fax or post to the Pakistan authorities. Their fax numbers and postal addresses are attached below with this appeal. Thank you.] Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information […]

Dear friends,  In June 2008 after Cyclone Nargis devastated the Burma delta, a group of homeless residents went to request assistance from offices of international agencies in Rangoon. At that time, two reporters for local news journals went along with them. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) in this appeal is bringing you details of […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that officers allegedly attached to the Special Task Force (STF) and the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) arbitrarily arrested and detained an activist on 12 February 2009. He has allegedly been targeted for his activities in documenting cases of child abuse in Jaffna. Even though […]

Dear Friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the Minuwangoda police arbitrarily arrested some parents on the 17 February and held them as hostages until their son surrendered himself to the police. In the police station, the father was allegedly tortured in the lock up while the mother was prevented from […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has closely followed and issued appeals on many of the cases that arose from the September 2007 nationwide protests against military dictatorship in Burma. Here we bring you details of a number of related cases that were among the large numbers of those decided late in 2008. […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the Wennappuwa police tortured a young man on October 8, 2008. Following his arrest the police did not inform his family and allegedly tortured him whilst he was in their custody. The man had to undergo surgery to his leg due to the […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that seven construction workers were illegally arrested and held by soldiers over allegations that they were constructing a house for a rebel leader. The workers, however, were neither working for a rebel leader nor involve in any rebel group. They are heads of […]

Dear friends,  In recent weeks there has been a great deal of news internationally about the plight of Rohingya leaving from western Burma in boats whom navy and security personnel of Thailand have pushed back into the ocean. In order to illustrate some of the problems that they face in Burma, the Asian Human Rights […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes with deep concern that a labour lawyer and several other activists, who had already been released after they were exonerated from questionable charges, have been charged with another murder complaint. Had they not been informed by a colleague, they would have not known that they had […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Vilgamuva police officers have assaulted a school child and arbitrarily detained him in custody. The Officer-in- Charge, a Sergeant and a female police constable are directly responsible for the incident of an assault on a child in custody following arbitrary detention.  CASE DETAILS: (based […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has obtained details of the charging, sentencing and imprisoning of a man in Burma for helping farmers to lodge complaints about confiscation of land in the central part of the country. Ko Zaw Htay was found guilty of giving out official secrets and sentenced to ten years’ […]

Five persons belonging to the Ahmadi sect of Islam, four of them children, have been arrested for desecrating the name of the last prophet of Islam (peace be upon him), and charged under a law that can only be met with the death penalty. The children were accused of writing the name of the Prophet […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been collecting and documenting cases of illegal arrest and imprisonment of persons accused in relation to the September 2007 protests in Burma. In this appeal we give the details of another three persons who in December were convicted without evidence on charges of having attempted to […]