Democracy

The Rajasthan board of secondary education has recently announced its intent to include a chapter on the life and achievements of Mr. Narendra Modi, the Prime Ministerial candidate of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in its school textbooks. Following this, the Madhya Pradesh state government has announced the same. The announcements have no shock value […]

Leader of National Peace and Order Council Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha Royal Thai Army Headquarters Rachadamnoen Nok Road, Bangkok 10200, Thailand Fax:  (+66-2) 226 1838 E-mail: prforeign@gmail.com Dear General We, the members of civil society and human rights defenders of Nepal, express our deep concern over the takeover the administration of the country by the military junta, […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission is saddened to learn of the death of Deshamanya Ranjith Abeysuriya PC, a man of impeccable integrity who contributed for many years in various capacities to the protection of the rights of Sri Lankan citizens in a period which saw some of the most devastating attacks on democracy and the […]

At approximately 10 am on May 24, 2014, the National Peace and Order Maintenance Council (NPOMC, formerly NOMC) issued Order No. 5/2014 broadcast on the radio and television demanding that 35 persons report themselves to the Army auditorium at Thewet Road by 4 pm on May 24, 2014. At 9 pm on May, the NPOMC […]

At 3am on May 20, 2014, General Prayuth Chan-ocha, the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army, announced that martial law was immediately in force. After two days of uncertainty, in which martial law co-existed with the constitution and the caretaker government remained nominally in power, General Prayuth led a coup at approximately 5 pm on […]

‘Lawyers for Democracy’ condemns the brutal attack on university students for demonstrating and the subsequent assault and torture at the Slave Island police station causing physical injury to some of the students. We reiterate the fundamental rights of students to protest or demonstrate in a peaceful manner. We deplore the actions of the police in […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) congratulates the people of India and the Election Commission for successfully concluding a free and fair national election. This election has shown once again that the people of India value their ballot and are capable of changing governments through democratic and peaceful means.The task now falls upon the political […]

(Note: this article was first published in the May 4, 2014 issue of the Sunday Examiner) I am a Filipino but I see myself a Hong Konger. If we are to take the guidelines of Hong Kong Unison, a non-profit organisation advocating for the protection of the rights of ethnic minorities, a Hong Konger is any person […]

The decision of a high court judge in Kerala to stop hearing a case, following the visit of a lawyer who allegedly trying to influence him, is another symptom of low morale within the judiciary as well as the Bar. The judge in question, Justice C. T. Ravikumar, was hearing a series of litigations relating […]

Adilur Rahman Khan, Human Rights Defender of Bangladesh; AHRC File Photo Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan, a renowned human rights defender, who has been relentlessly persecuted by the incumbent regime in Bangladesh, has been recognized for his courage by the global human rights community. Adilur has been awarded the 2014 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights, which he […]

‘Lawyers for Democracy’ condemn the harassment of the editor of Lakbima Newspaper, Sman Wagaarachchi by calling him to appear before the CID for questioning for the mere reasons that the caption to a photograph published in the paper has caused embarrassment to a party.   While conceding that it may have coursed embarrassment, we are surprised […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) appreciates the observations made by the Supreme Court of India that the Indian criminal justice process will immensely benefit from crime investigating agencies adopting scientific investigation methods. The apex court has said that the old style of conducting investigations, relying on confession statements and oral evidence in criminal trials, […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) congratulates the people of India for their participation to elect the 16th Lok Sabha. The process has attracted, as usual, considerable media attention across the world. Media claims the process to be ‘the largest democratic exercise of the world.’ Contestants are in what may be termed as a lobbying overdrive. […]

A man entered a gutter to clean it and fainted in the bad air. His comrade waiting outside realized this and entered the gutter to save him. He too fainted. They both died of asphyxiation. This happened a mere two days after Supreme Court outlawed manual scavenging again, and ordering, not ‘directing’, the states to […]

The address by Mr. Upul Jayasuriya, President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka at the Convocation on March 30, 2014 As I rise before this august assembly for the second time since my last convocation having been re-elected. As the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka It is my pride and privilege […]

We wish to share with you the following article from Prachatai website, written by Thaweeporn Kunmetha. In October 2003, Jawa Jalo, an ethnic Lahu, was captured by armed state officials during a search of a litchi farm in a northern border province. Although the officials who captured him reported to their commanders that no illicit drugs were […]

To, Representatives of all political parties of India The World’s largest democracy has plunged into the election season as the 16thLokh Sabha elections are approaching. The environment is tense. While you all are busy organizing rallies, giving speeches, proving yourself better and different from others, the media and the public are busy in speculations and […]

We reproduce below copies of the court orders. The first order states that, as the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) is conducting an investigation into the terrorist activities of the LTTE and that if the information gathered during this investigation is given to local or international persons there will be great damage […]

It is widely reported that Acts relating to national security created in various names throughout in Asia have been used, not to protect national security per se, but to oppress persons holding different ideas, or opinions, or critical of policies of the government. It is also a recognised trend that human rights defenders have been […]

Although the ethnic war between the Tamil LTTE and the Sinhalese forces of the Sri Lankan government ended in May 2009, the ethics of the conflict is still current. It is being discussed in institutions in Geneva, USA, Canada, UK, EU and many other countries. It is the ethics of the war that the international […]