Freedom of expression

According to information provided by Protection International to the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), human rights defenders and other members of the Klong Sai Pattana community in Surat Thani province have been intimidated and threatened with eviction from their homes and villages. The Asian Human Rights Commission is concerned that the in the general atmosphere […]

Dear Mr. President, “You must be the change you want to see in the world” The Sri Lankan Lion roared at the 69th Session of the UN General Assembly reminding the global community that “…, in order to gain the confidence and goodwill of the international community as a whole, but one of the essential requirements was consistency of standards across […]

Ms. Phyu Hnin Htwe, a 23-year-old, member of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU) from Yadanabon University, Mandalay has been falsely implicated in the abduction of two Chinese workers from an army-backed copper mine project. On 20 September 2014, four months after the incident, she was arrested in her hometown under Penal Code […]

On 19 September 2014, the Appeal Court upheld the Criminal Court’s ruling in the case of Somyot Prueksakasemsuk. Somyot was found guilty of two violations of Article 112 of the Criminal Codeand sentenced to ten years in prison on 23 January 2013, with one additional year from a prior case for a total of eleven […]

TEXTS ADOPTED Provisional edition P8_TA-PROV(2014)0024 Human rights violations in Bangladesh PE536.999 European Parliament resolution of 18 September 2014 on human rights violations in Bangladesh (2014/2834(RSP)) The European Parliament, –    having regard to its previous resolutions on Bangladesh, –    having regard to the EC-Bangladesh Cooperation Agreement of 2001, –    having regard to Articles 33 and 35 […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission has received shocking reports of journalists having to face the worst ordeals possible, during the course of the year 2014. Four journalists and five of their supporting staff have been killed by “un-known” persons and more than 38 journalists were attacked and injured by the police and mostly by those […]

by Nilantha Ilangamuwa “There are many things that can only be seen through eyes that have cried” ― Oscar A. Romero (1917 –1980) The earlier idea of the destruction of the social system and “establishment” of the social disorder was a systematic ideological option designed and driven by certain elite groups. It was merely an […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward an appeal from the Human Rights and Peace for Papua – the International Coalition for Papua (ICP) regarding risks of persecution by the authorities of Indonesia against a French journalist and Papuan indigenous leader in Papua. For more information, please visit: http://humanrightspapua.org/  Thank you.  […]

A Statement from Thai Lawyers for Human Rights forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) The Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) in collaboration with Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF) and Amnesty International Thailand was planning to organize a presentation of report on the situation of human rights “Access to Justice in Thailand: Currently Unavailable […]

A news journalist, working with the Minivan News, in Maldives, Ahmed Rilwan Abdulla has been missing since 8th August 2014. AHRC has received information from the Minivan News in Maldives that  there is credible evidence that  the journalist  has been abducted, with the recent spate of incidents of intimidation created by religious groups in affiliation […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission is gravely concerned to have learned that Patiwat (last name withheld), a fifth-year student in the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts at Khon Kaen University and a human rights defender, is facing a criminal investigation in relation to a complaint under Article 112 of the Criminal Code in Thailand. […]

Lawyers Collective urge Ministry of External Affairs Responding to a statement made by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on 5th August 2014 on the   incident at CSR, the Lawyers’ Collective cautions the public not to be misled by the inaccurate contents of the statement of the MEA. (see the MEA statement at the end […]

Urges credible probe into the actions of the mob attack on 4th August Lawyers witnessed an event of a mob disrupting a peaceful meeting to discuss issues of disappeared families, held at Center for Society & Religion, located in the premises of a Catholic Church in Colombo 10, on 4th August 2014. This meeting was […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Centre for Social Development and Women Action for Development – two human rights organisations based in Manipur, India – that local politicians are targeting them for exposing corruption in administration. On 12 July, a small mob gathered in front of the office of […]

During the three year period of new Myanmar Government, new political reforms have been taking place. The authorities stopped censoring the media in June 2012 and also allowed private news media groups to print newspapers in April 2013. As people in Burma only had state owned newspapers for the previous decade, elderly journalists and society […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you that four journalists who wrote an investigative article about an army facility in Burma have been sentenced to ten years in jail, along with their editor. The conviction is clearly intended to intimidate the print media in Burma, or Myanmar, at a time […]

Targeting Freedom of Expression “It is clear that the freedom of expression and opinion is a fundamental right, the mother of all rights.” – Abid Hussain, UN Special Rapporteur on the Freedom of Information, Speech in Sri Lanka, 1999. A notice has been issued by one D.M.S, Dissanayake as the director/registrar of the NGO Secretariat […]

Photo by Prachatai The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is gravely concernedto have learned that Thanapol Eawsakul, writer, human rights defender, and editor of Fa Diew Kan (Same Sky) journal and publishing house, has been re-arrested and is being held by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). The conditions of his re-arrest and detention are […]

Social Online Posting Claimed as a Breach of His Terms of Release Previously, Mr. Thanapol Eawsakul was summoned to report himself as per the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO)’s announcement no. 5/ 2557 and was released on 30 May 2014. In order to be discharged from the military custody, he had to sign […]

Attached Communication was issued under the hand of the Director of National Secratariat of NGOs, an arm of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) recently. The MoD does not enjoy any specific legal authority under any statute whatsoever to control  freedom of speech and association of citizens,  who act collectively through civil society organisations. In the […]