Freedom of expression

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward to you the following press release from the Free Media Movement. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- A Press Release from the Free Media Movement forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) SRI LANKA: The Free Media Movement condemns the arrest of […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the shameful act allegedly by the officials of notorious intelligence agencies and the Elite Force, a law enforcement agency of Punjab government. Mr. Umer Cheema, a senior journalist from the newspaper, daily The News International, was abducted, tortured severely and kept in incommunicado […]

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following statement from Reporters Without Borders. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- A Statement from Reporters Without Borders forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission PAKISTAN: Murder attempt on journalist over TV report of lynching English: http://en.rsf.org/pakistan-murder-attempt-on-journalist-over-01-09-2010,38255.html Français : http://fr.rsf.org/pakistan-un-journaliste-en-danger-de-mort-01-09-2010,38253.html 1st September 2010-Dunya TV reporter Hafiz Muhammad […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward to you the following open letter from NGOs and West Papua Networks worldwide regarding political prisoners in Papua and West Papua, Indonesia. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ——- An Open Letter from NGOs and Papua Networks worldwide forwarded by the Asian Human Rights […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward to you the following press release from Reporters Without Borders. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- A Press Release from Reporters Without Borders forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) (Hong Kong, August 11, 2010) Reporters Without Borders/Reporters sans frontières English: http://en.rsf.org/sri-lanka-where-is-prageeth-10-08-2010,38113.html Français: http://fr.rsf.org/sri-lanka-ou-est-prageeth-10-08-2010,38112.html […]

As Prageeth Eknaligoda remains a matter of concern the principles of international law relating to the right to truth is a relevant issue. we reproduce below the General Comment on the Right to the Truth in Relation to Enforced Disappearances of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances Preamble   The right to the truth — sometimes […]

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following statement from the South Asia Forum for Human Rights. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- A Statement from the South Asia Forum for Human Rights (SAFHK) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission SRI LANKA: Attack on mass media continues In Sri Lanka, the […]

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following statement from Human Rights Watch. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- A Statement from Human Rights Watch forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission SINGAPORE: Legal Charges Threat to Freedom of Expression British Author’s Critique of Death Penalty Leads to Arrest (New York, July […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward to you the following open letter from the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) to the Attorney-General of the Republic of Singapore. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ——- An Open Letter from the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) forwarded by the Asian […]

(Hong Kong, July 23, 2010) The Asian Human Rights Commission announces the presentation of the Asian Human Rights Award for Creative Media to Ms. Josefina Bergsten as the producer and the director of the documentary UNJUST. The Presentation of the award will take place at Foreign Correspondents Club, Hong Kong, on the 27th July, 2010.  […]

(Hong Kong, July 8, 2010) The decision of an independent online news site to shut down its web board is indicative of the shut down of free speech in Thailand under the ongoing state of emergency, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) said on Thursday.  In an announcement posted on its website, www.prachatai.com, Prachatai said that […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about a recent attack on a magazine office in Jakarta. Three Molotov Cocktail bombs were thrown at the office of Tempo magazine by unidentified men. No injuries were sustained. However there are concerns that the incident may be connected to a critical article on […]

Basil Fernando For many decades now, international journalists have interpreted every story that has emerged from Sri Lanka to be some kind of war story. Some journalists have proposed that Sri Lanka’s use of overwhelming force was able to eradicate terrorism in the country, and that other countries such as the United States, should follow […]

“The government must tell us who killed our father; it must arrest the murderers,” says Kamran Hayat, the 8-year-old son of journalist Hayatullah Khan, whose handcuffed body was found four years ago, on 16 June 2006, near Mir Ali, in the Tribal Area of North Waziristan. Khan, who had been shot in the head, was […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that two Christian men are in imminent danger after they were arrested, without a legitimate investigation, for blasphemy. The police officers involved have not followed the penal code, which only allows such charges to be made after an investigation by the superintendent of police. Blasphemy […]

Today, the Union Home Ministry, the Chief Ministers of Manipur and Nagaland and a handful of Naga and Meitei nationalists are celebrating the 61st day of their successful enforcement of an indefinite economic blockade organised against the ordinary people living in Manipur state. In tribute to the strenuous effort of the All Naga Students Association […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that an Aceh-based journalist was beaten and threatened by a military officer. The journalist had published an article – against the request of the officer – about illegal logging in the area, and its possible involvement with the Alapan District Police Station (Polres), and […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is concerned about the constant threat of censorship faced by BBC Pakistan, the independent radio station broadcasting in Urdu. The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) and the ministry of information and broadcasting, both under the strong influence of the Army, censored news bulletins that the BBC […]

Late in the evening of Tuesday, June 1, 2010, the government of Bangladesh closed a Bangla-speaking national daily newspaper, the Daily Amar Desh. They arrested the acting editor Mr. Mahmudur Rahman in his office in the early morning hours of June 2. The authorities cancelled the declaration of the newspaper, sealing off its newsroom and printing […]

In many countries, people talk about trial by media. This type of non-legal trial occurs when an intense amount of media speculation on a case results in the public having certain foregone conclusions about the guilt or innocence of the accused person before he or she has heard the verdict of a judge. In Burma, […]