Extrajudicial killings

On April 16 of this year, a ferry sank and hundreds of lives were lost. Many students who died were from a single school. Dozens of passengers are still missing. This incident has signalled the public that they need to be more aware of the concept of ‘safety’. Analysis from experts and the media has […]

This must be the first example in human history that a country actually pays their enemy to murder its own soldiers. After much fanfare, followed by congratulatory messages on social media from the liberal sections of Pakistan, the military announced on June 15, 2014, that it had launched the long awaited operation in the North […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that  military officers –  three Lieutenant Colonels and the other a  Major in the Pakistan Army , fired live bullets into a peaceful protest by  farmers and later attacked them resulting in killing 02 farmers on the spot, and causing injuries to 29 others, […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) objects to the Contempt of Court Bill, which the government has tabled in Parliament on 9 June 2014. The Bill, if passed, will restrict freedom of expression and the freedom of the press. The Bill, while purporting to uphold judicial dignity, curtails individual freedom enshrined in Article 19 of […]

by Basil Fernando The video footage is fairly clear. First we see a tall policeman wearing a helmet standing with his arm stretched towards the other side of the road. Then we see a scooter stopped just next to him. There is one man sat on the scooter. Looking closer, we see that the policeman […]

(Hong Kong, June 26, 2014) To mark the day for victims of torture, a forum and a public gathering with migrant workers will be held simultaneously in Central and in Causeway Bay on Sunday, June 29. For the Filipino community, an indoor forum on “Torture and human rights in the Philippines” will be held in […]

A statement on the UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture In Pakistan, torture has become a norm, for oppressive means of government by successive regimes; it is used mainly as a means of oppressing opposition and against youth irrespective of gender, in the suppression of their freedoms, their freedom of thought and […]

The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia, Professor Surya P. Subedi, on Tuesday ended his 11th fact-finding mission to Cambodia, noting progress in some human rights areas and commending the Government’s response to a recent sudden and massive return of Cambodian migrant workers from Thailand. He called on the Thai […]

The Friday Forum has urged the Inspector General of Police to respond as a matter of urgency to the current public concern, including that of the Bar Council, on the deaths that are taking place in police custody. A particularly shocking recent incident involves the death of a 17year old minor after assault in police […]

by Avinash Pandey “If she had been killed on a street corner in this village, would you even be here?” was the question put to journalist Mehreen Zahra-Malik, by the husband of Farzana Iqbal, a young woman bludgeoned to death in front of the Lahore High Court. Probably not, as violence against women is not […]

It is to the credit of some Buddhist monks that they have taken active role in extending support and protection to the Muslims victim to vicious attacks across Sri Lanka. The attacks began after the Secretary of BBS, Reverend Galagoda-Atte Gnanasara Thera, spoke at a recent meeting at Aluthgama. Image courtesy: The Financial Times, daily […]

by Anjuman Ara Begum* Sexual violence continues in India unabated. The December 2012 gang rape and subsequent death of a 23 year old woman led to a shift in discourse on sexual violence in India. For the first time, the blame shifted from victims to perpetrators, fostering changes in certain colonial era criminal laws. However, […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding unlawful killing of a young man by the Sri Lankan police. Subash Indika Jayasinghe (24), a resident of Kithuwala, was riding his motorbike in the company of his passenger, Saveen Chathuranga (18) when they were flagged down by officers attached to the Nittambuwa Police […]

Violence has spread in Aluthgama. According to reports, it has so far caused three deaths, as well as injuries to many persons and damage to some Muslim places of worship and gathering. The violence has driven many women and children out of their homes into places of refuge. The man leading this mayhem is a […]

GENEVA (16 June 2014) – The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay expressed her deep alarm Monday at inter-communal violence taking place in south-western Sri Lanka in which two, or possibly three, people have reportedly been killed and scores injured. The violence erupted on Sunday 15 June in the town of Aluthgama following […]

‘Lawyers for Democracy’ views with alarm the spate of attacks on civilians by the police during the recent past.  The case of the torture of Udaya Kumara of Udawalawe police station, the killing of Subash Indika of Pasyala and the shooting at a Three Wheeler at Katunayake are serious incidents of police excesses.  From the […]

Three television channels of Pakistan’s most watched and most influential media network  Geo TV, was ordered to be taken off air and shut down for a period of 15 days on the  instruction of the country’s intelligence agency the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate  (ISI). Continuing the attack Geo TV was also baselessly fined a sum of […]

A side event at the human rights council organised by the Asian Legal Resource Center (ALRC), Franciscans International (FI), International Coalition for Papua (ICP), Pro Papua Foundation, Tapol, Vivat International, West Papua Netzwerk (WPN), on Thursday, June 12, 2014  14:30 – 16:30 (CEST, UTC+2), Room XXII  Palais des Nations, Geneva Live Webcast West Papua in Indonesia […]

Danilo Reyes, deputy director of the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) in Hong Kong, was invited by the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHR) to attend the National Consultation Workshop and Writeshop for the National Preventive Mechanism for two days beginning on April 29, 2014, in Quezon City, Philippines. While attending this program […]

A young student of 22 year has entered into 46 days of his hunger strike unto death today. His condition is very critical and there are fears of his slipping into coma as he faints most of the time. The government has completely ignored his hunger strike and forget providing medical help has not even […]