Enforced disappearances and abductions

On 3 March 2006, Joey Estriber was waiting for a lift home in Baler, Aurora, when four armed men suddenly dragged him into a nearby van and drove off. Days later, Rogelio Concepcion was also forcibly disappeared in San Ildefonso, Bulacan on March 6. According to witnesses, two men riding on a motorcycle grabbed him […]

PHILIPPINES: Abduction and forcible disappearance; violence against human rights activists by military; inadequate investigation; absence of an enabling law to seek justice, remedies and prosecute perpetrators of disappearance ———————————– Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received further information from Karapatan (Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights) stating that Joey Estriber, a […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR), a labour and human rights organisation based in Quezon City, detailing the disappearance of labour leader, Rogelio Concepcion on 6 March 2006. Concepcion’s family fears that he could have been abducted by elements of […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), Hong Kong, with the cooperation of the Institute of Asian Studies and Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University and the NGOs Coalition for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, Thailand, is pleased to announce that the 2nd Asian Human Rights Defenders Award Presentation Ceremony for Mr Somchai Neelaphaijit (posthumous), […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from KARAPATAN (Alliance for the Advancement of Peoples Rights), a human rights organisation based in Manila, regarding the arrest and subsequent forcible disappearance of Reynaldo Manalo and his brother Raymond on 14 February 2006. Reynaldo and Raymond were separately arrested by five men believed […]

Today, February 20, 2006 the Board of Directors of the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has selected Somchai Neelaphaijit for its 2nd , in recognition of his tireless efforts to bring justice to victims of human rights abuses in Thailand, for which he ultimately sacrificed his life. Somchai was a world-class human rights lawyer and […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission welcomes the landmark ruling by the Supreme Court of Nepal on Monday February 13, 2006, which declared the controversial Royal Commission for Corruption Control (RCCC) unconstitutional and ordered it to be scrapped immediately. This has paved the way for the release of ousted Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who had […]

[RE: UP-013-2006: BANGLADESH: Three persons tortured by the Chapainawabganj police; UA-041-2006: BANGLADESH: Eight people killed and at least one hundred injured by police fire in Chapainawabganj district; UA-013-2006: BANGLADESH: Two people killed and thirty-five injured by police fire in Chapainawabganj district] ———————————– UP-016-2006: BANGLADESH: Three detained and tortured leaders have been released from prison in […]

[RE: FA-06-2004: THAILAND: A human rights lawyer Mr. Somchai Neelaphaijit missing… UP-20-2005: THAILAND: Human rights lawyer still missing after nearly one year; Action needed today to have case transferred; UP-24-2005: THAILAND: Thai minister refuses to act on missing human rights lawyer case; UP-37-2005: Thai PM orders action on missing human rights lawyer, while court hears […]

On the occasion of the first anniversary of King Gyanendra’s royal coup, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed of the arrests of 600 persons engaged in peaceful demonstrations throughout the country. These persons were protesting against the return to autocratic direct monarchic rule and the plethora of human rights abuses that have […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you about the forcible disappearance of Francis Noel Desacula (35) in Batangas, Luzon on 9 January 2006. Desacula was last seen on January 16 reportedly with elements of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) in Laurel, Batangas onboard their service vehicle, days after he lost […]

The Criminal Court in Bangkok on January 12 found that missing Thai human rights lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit had been abducted and that a police officer was among a group of persons, all suspected to be police, who were responsible. The prime minister subsequently said that Somchai has been murdered, and insisted that the Department of […]

This afternoon the Criminal Court in Bangkok will give its verdict on the guilt or innocence of five police charged in connection with the abduction and disappearance of human rights lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit on March 12, 2004. The five–Police Major Ngern Tongsuk, Police Lieutenant Colonel Sinchai Nimbunkampong, Police Lance Corporal Chaiweng Paduang, Police Sergeant Rundorn […]

[RE: FA-06-2004: THAILAND: A human rights lawyer Mr. Somchai Neelaphaijit missing… UP-20-2005: THAILAND: Human rights lawyer still missing after nearly one year; Action needed today to have case transferred; UP-24-2005: THAILAND: Thai minister refuses to act on missing human rights lawyer case; UP-37-2005: Thai PM orders action on missing human rights lawyer, while court hears […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you of a report by the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) stating that enquiries are ongoing regarding 20 complaints of forced disappearances that are alleged to have taken place during the month of December 2005. In a statement issued on this matter […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed that a person was taken into custody by the security forces in Nepal and since arrest his whereabouts are not known and that the person is feared to be murdered in custody. Advocacy Forum, the local partner of the AHRC has informed us that […]

[Re: FA-16-2004: Forcible disappearance of a young man in Davao City; UP-103-2005: A 13-year-old daughter of a disappeared man in Davao City suffers trauma; UP-134-2005: Social welfare department fails relatives of disappeared victim in Davao City, Mindanao] ——————————————————————— PHILIPPINES: Disappearance; child rights; inadequate government action; social welfare ——————————————————————— Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 2, 2005 AS-123-2005 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission THAILAND: DSI must promptly and assertively answer the question “Where is Somchai?” December 1 was the last day in the trial hearings at the Bangkok Criminal Court over the alleged abduction and subsequent disappearance of human rights lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from reliable sources about the kidnapping of a social and environmental activist in Raigarh District, Chhattisgarh on 22 November 2005. Bina Rajput, a committed fighter for the rights of the poor and tribals was cycling from her home in Saraipali Village to another village […]

[RE: FA-06-2004: THAILAND: A human rights lawyer Mr. Somchai Neelaphaijit missing… UP-20-2005: THAILAND: Human rights lawyer still missing after nearly one year; Action needed today to have case transferred; UP-24-2005: THAILAND: Thai minister refuses to act on missing human rights lawyer case; UP-37-2005: Thai PM orders action on missing human rights lawyer, while court hears […]