Arbitrary arrest & detention

Sign petition for attorney general to bring justice to May 1998 riot victims INDONESIA: Denial of right to adequate remedy for victims of systematic gross human rights violations ——————————————————- The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has prepared an online petition to call on the attorney general of Indonesia to finally act to deliver justice to […]

Dear Friends,  Following is the latest update on Fr. Pallath’s hunger strike. He was arrested and forcibly shifted to the Calicut Medical College hospital today.  We are urging you once again to hold protests in front of the Jesuit houses in your country and to send protest letter, which suggested before, by fax or mail […]

State violence and repression in Asia INDONESIA/MALAYSIA/SINGAPORE/AUSTRALIA: Repression and violence against human rights defenders on May Day 2002 ——————————————————————– Last Wednesday was International Labour Day – the day to remember and continue the struggle for basic human rights for workers around the world. Far too often the efforts of worker activists for justice end in […]

Richard Cook, Director of UNRWA operations in the West Bank: 
“The reports we are getting are of wholesale destruction of a kind more normally associated with natural disasters such as earthquakes…. We implore the Israeli authorities to open up the camp to allow our relief teams to help its desperate population.” 

Dear Friends We are asking for your urgent action in the light of dramatic developments in the struggle of the ISA detainees for proper medical and legal treatment. The 8-day long hunger strike and several days without water has seriously weakened the six detainees to the point where two have been put on intravenous drip […]

Dear Friends,  We are forwarding you an appeal from the South Asia Forum for Human Rights (SAFHR) based in Nepal regarding the arbitrary detention and torture of Dr. Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir.  According to SAFHR, Dr. Alamgir has been in detention for one month without any formal charge and has been continuously subjected to torture. Please […]

(RE: UA-11-2002: Attacks on human rights defenders, destruction of property, public use of weapons with impunity)  UPDATE (INDONESIA): Further attacks on human rights defenders, public threats made with impunity  ———————————————————————-  Dear Friends  We are including here a joint statement by 48 Indonesian NGOs in response to another attack by the FBR (Betawi Brotherhood Forum) on […]

AHRC has previously released an urgent appeal and update on the arrest and detention of Dr Salai Tun Than, who held a one man protest in front of Rangoon Town Hall last November 2001.

A case of gang rape and sexual exploitation against Dalit minor girl INDIA: Caste based discrimination – a distinct case of racial discrimination on the basis of work and descent; right to life & fair trial and justice; abduction, gang-rape and sexual exploitation against Dalit minor girl ———————————————————– We are shocked to learn that a […]

Dear Friends,  We are sending you updated information regarding our previous appeal (UA-39-2001) about Mr. S. K. Pradhan, secretary-general of the Peoples Forum for Human Rights and Development (PFHRD) in Bhutan, and urge you to take ACTION NOW for the immediate release of Mr. Pradhan.  To briefly review the case, Mr. Pradhan was arrested on […]

Last resort’ for asylum seeker Stephen Khan AUSTRALIA: Mandatory detention and denial of the right to asylum, denial of independent fair trial, serious risk of ill-treatment if expatriated ——————————————————————— AHRC has previously issued urgent appeals drawing attention to the brutal treatment of asylum-seekers and the appalling conditions in detention centres in Australia. Since last year […]

Dear friends, The political detention of a Kyrgyz opposition parliamentarian, Mr. Azimbek Beknazarov, 47, has taken a turn for the worse with reports of him being brutally beaten while in prison. Hundreds of Kyrgyz people are continuing their weeks’ long hunger strike over his treatment – at least one has already died in this protest. […]

Further to our Urgent Appeal of 28 January 2002 regarding the arrest and detention of Dr. Salai Tun Than in Rangoon, Burma, for holding a peaceful one-man protest, we have received additional details of the Professor’s arrest and his distinguished biography. 

We have received astounding news relating to the inhumane treatment and dismissal of a nun by her order. Sister Vanaselvi osm, a woman who has completely devoted her life to the service and upliftment of the poor in India, had been arrested (on 20 November 2001) and detained by the Suramangalam police on baseless charges.

We wish to alert you to a case of serious miscarriage of justice in Sri Lanka. A young Tamil woman, Ms. Victor Joyce Scholastica, has been imprisoned for almost four years under the Prevention of Terrorism Act on the vague charge that she had allegedly \”made a sign or a gesture which could be a sign, to two purported accomplices\”. Her family believes that she is being held in prison as a substitute prisoner for her former fiance, who is not in the country.

NEPAL: Innocent arrest and detention without any criminal evidence ———————————————————– We have learned that Mr. S. K. Pradhan, secretary-general of the Peoples Forum for Human Rights and Democracy (PFHRD) based in Nepal, one of the human rights organisations with general consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, was arrested on […]

Dear Friends  Thank you for your continued action for justice for the 19 persons arrested and detained in Bandung, Indonesia, for their legitimate protest against impoverishing labour laws and fuel prices. It seems that the cases against the 12 remaining in prison pending trial were found by the court to be so weak that all […]

Dear Friends, The following is an appeal for the release of a 35-year-old Tibetan ethno-musicologist, Mr. Ngawang Choephel, who is in prison on charges of espionage by the Chinese government. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) urges you to join the campaign for Ngawang Choephel by taking the following suggested action. Thank you. Urgent Appeals […]

Dear Sir’Ma’am   People’s watch is a human rights organization in India. We were informed that 19 people are being detained since their arrest on June 15 in association with the legitimate protests against the changes to labour laws and increases in fuel prices. We understand that labour conditions are already relatively poor and that […]

The pro-democracy ‘reformasi’ movement in Indonesia is facing a severe backlash. After one and a half months in jail, and with the presidency crisis resolved, the ‘Bandung 19’ political prisoners need your Urgent Action to call for their release. All the information you need for this action, including a sample letter, is included below. Please read as much as you can, but most importantly write the letter to Pres. Megawati.