Freedom of association

Following is an update from our friends in Indonesia regarding the 19 young activists detained after the labour law and oil prices protests in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. 7 of the 19 have been released thanks to efforts to date. The other 12 were denied access to lawyers and forced to sign statements by the police, and as a result are in danger of being convicted of serious offences carrying long prison terms, despite the miscarriage of justice involved. Please read this short update and send a letter to protest the unfair proceedings being used to stop these young activists from freely expressing their opinion about attacks on worker rights and unbearable costs of living. Your letter could help to free the remaining political prisoners. 

On September 29 a military intelligence officer used his gun to threaten the life of an opposition parliament openly in a busy street in Phnom Penh. As yet no action has been taken against this officer. Details are provided below in a Human Rights Watch press release. Following the press relese is a sample letter and the contact details for the Prime Minister of Cambodia and the chair of the Senate’s Human Rights Commission. Please write to them to try to keep democracy alive in Cambodia. 

Further to UA 32/00 \”Early Warning of likely escalation of election violence\”, as of 25th September, 13 had died from election-related violence since the campaign began. As of the 28th, the Centre for Monitoring of Election Violence (CMEV) had recorded 850 incidents of violence (or almost 35 per day), with indications that this level is rising even further (61 cases were recorded on September 27). Kindly see the CMEV website for further info: 
http://cpalanka.org/cmev.html 

Two young men have been killed in election-related violence in Sri Lanka in the first 5 days following the announcement of the National Elections to be held on October 10. Here is the sequence of events: 

There are 7 people arrested by the police during a demonstration to show support to the former deputy prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, whose verdict on his sodomy trial was supposed to be handed down this morning, but was postponed until further notice by the judge yesterday. The demonstration proceeded this morning despite the postponement of Anwar’s verdict as there were about 30 other opposition leaders and reformasi activists were also on trial in the magistrate court for allegedly involved in previous illegal assemblies.

  It is reported that several arrests are taking place in Malaysia, which the human rights activists and observers describe as a crack down on the opposition. The most significant among them is the arrest of Karpal Singh who heads the legal team defending the former deputy Prime-Minister Anwar Ibrahim. He is charged with sedition […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is forwarding an appeal from a labour union of hospital employees, the Bacolod Our Lady of Mercy Specialty Hospital Employees Union (BOLMSHEU), regarding the illegal termination of 31 of their officers and members. The hospital, the Bacolod Our Lady of Mercy Specialty Hospital, illegally terminated the employment […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is forwarding to you an appeal from the National Coalition for the Protection of Workers’ Rights (NCPWR) regarding the murder of Edward Panganiban, a labour rights activist. If you have any question, please contact the group’s email at: ncpwr.st@gmail.com and granahe.st@gmail.com Thank you. Urgent Appeals Desk Asian […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward an appeal received by the  Amnesty International group in Reading, England, regarding the sentence of two men involved in a peaceful political ceremony in 2004, who were convicted with treason in 2005. After receiving prison terms, it is reported that the men were beaten […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward an appeal received from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), calling your support for the Migrants Trade Union (MTU) and the right of migrant workers in South Korea to form and join trade unions. The Ministry of Labor and South Korean government have […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is forwarding to you an appeal letter issued by five Congressmen in the Philippines who are currently facing unjust restraint and the threat of arrest for their stance against the Arroyo government and the recent “state of national emergency”. The five are aware that were they to […]