Fabrication of charges

LENIDO LUMANOG or “LEN” for short, the leading figure of the so-called “ABADILLA 5,” was buried on 15 September 2016. He died on 6 September 2016 at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) after a lingering kidney condition incurred while already in prison and shortly after turning 60 on 2 September 2016. He was […]

This week Just Asia begins with the killing of six Pakistani Shias in two cities under military control. In Quetta city, the capital of Balochistan, four women were shot dead in a bus on their way home on October 4. On the same evening, two Shias were killed returning from their mosque in the military […]

Basil Fernando Kadireshan Ravishankar, 34 was severely tortured by the HQI and other officers of the Hatton police station merely for failing to provide a haircut immediately on his order a couple of days ago. The case exposes the dangers of not allowing lawyers from representing their clients at police station, an amendment Minister of […]

A Press Release from Muslim Attorney Centre Foundation (MAC) and Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) On 11 October 2016 from 09.00 -16.00 at the courtroom no. 2, 2nd floor of the Pattani Provincial Court (new court), a hearing in the post mortem inquest will take place in the […]

Basil Fernando A new dimension was added to the debate on the proposed amendment to the criminal procedure code when the Minister of Justice attempted to defend the amendment on the basis that it is required to enable investigations into crime. The proposed amendment is that lawyers would not be able to represent people at […]

On 17 August 2016, the Office of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (NHRC) officially informed Ms. Pornpen Khongkachonkiet that the NHRC could not investigate the facts revealed in a torture report that she and two other human rights defenders had submitted to the NHRC. The Commission claimed that the report failed to provide […]

This week Just Asia begins with an update regarding the execution of mentally ill Imdad Ali. Pakistan’s Supreme Court rejected his mercy appeal, and has set his execution for Tuesday, October 4. The Supreme Court decision arrives despite four United Nations human rights experts having urged authorities in Pakistan to halt Imdad Ali’s execution. The […]

Police and public officials have prevented a press briefing of Amnesty International (AI)’s about state-sponsored torture, saying that AI speakers might be charged for not having working permit. On 28 September 2016, at Four Wings Hotel in Bangkok, Special Branch police officers and officials from the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare intervened at a […]

The hasty passing of laws and emergency regulations particularly with the intention of encouraging law enforcement officers to commit acts which amounts to serious crimes is not an unfamiliar practice in Sri Lanka. How Sri Lanka became second in the world with regard to committing the heinous crime of enforced disappearances is an example of […]

On 7 September 2016, the verdict in the landmark case of the Karen people was delivered from the Central Administrative Court in Thailand. It ruled that the authorities did not break the law in burning down six Karen plaintiffs’ properties to forcibly relocate them from the Kaeng Krachan National Park. The Asian Human Rights Commission […]

This week Just Asia begins with Pakistan, where the Supreme Court ordered a week-long stay on the execution of mentally ill Imdad Ali. Despite being diagnosed as “insane”, Ali was to be hanged early on September 20. Due to appeals by rights groups, the Supreme Court will now hear the case on September 27 and […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned as human rights organizations, including Terai Human Rights Defenders Alliance (THRDA) and Advocacy Forum (AF), as well as human rights defenders and lawyers have been barred from monitoring detention centers and from meeting those detained in custody. The Nepal Police have stopped giving permission to lawyers […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding an environmental activist, Mr. I Wayan Suardana (alias Gendo.) His critics reported him to the police for his rejection of the Benoa Bay Reclamation Plan in Bali. Mr. Gendo, who is part of the For-Bali coalition, has consistently refused to affirm the plan […]

An article titled “The OMP – A Flawed Attempt to Deal with Complaints of Disappearances and/or Missing Persons in Sri Lanka” published in the Colombo Telegraph, by M.C.M Iqbal, forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission by M.C.M. Iqbal You May Read the Sinhala translation HERE To say that the Office of Missing Persons (OMP)) is a […]

Kaviratne Raviraj, 30 years old, arrested and taken to the Pussellawa police station by some plain clothed police officers and was later pronounced dead upon admission to the Pussellawa Hospital. According to the relatives of the deceased, he was assaulted by the officers at the time of the arrest, and one of his brothers states […]

An Open Letter from the Asian Human Rights Commission to the President of Pakistan His Excellency, Mr. Mamnoon Hussain¨ President of Pakistan President’s Secretariat Islamabad  Pakistan Fax: +92 51 9207458 Email: publicmail@president.gov.pk Dear Mr President, The Asian Human Rights Commission is deeply concerned about the case of Imdad Ali, a mentally ill, death row inmate in […]

On 12 September 2016, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) issued the NCPO Order No. 55/2016under Article 44 of the Interim Constitution; it states that all cases involving offences of the Announcement of the NCPO Order No. 37/2557 (2014), No. 38/2557 (2014), and No. 50/2557 (2014), will no longer be tried in Military […]

Joint Press Release Bangkok-Dhaka-Geneva-Madurai-Paris-Quezon City, September 16, 2016 – Our organisations strongly condemn today’s arbitrary arrest of Kashmiri human rights defender Mr. Khurram Parvez, and call for his immediate and unconditional release. On September 16 at 12:30 am, police officers came to Khurram Parvez’s home in Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir, arrested him without presenting a warrant, […]

Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) Human Rights Defenders Alert – India (HRDA) International Coalition Against Enforced Disappearances (ICAED) Odhikar The Observatory Joint Press Release Bangkok-Dhaka-Geneva-Madurai-Paris-Quezon City, September 15, 2016 – Our organisations condemn the arbitrary travel ban imposed on Kashmiri human […]

This week Just Asia begins with Thailand, where the Administrative Court ruled in favor of the National Park officers who forcibly evicted and burned about 100 houses and rice barns of ethnic Karen villagers in Phetchaburi province. According to the September 7 verdict, since the Karen villagers illegally encroached into protected areas, the park officers […]