Freedom of expression

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that more than a hundred villagers were injured in an incident in which the police opened fire and assaulted protestors in Orissa on 15 May. The police have reportedly fired upon the villagers who had gathered at the entrance of their village to prevent […]

Following a competition in which cartoons and drawings were submitted, the government of Pakistan blocked many websites over what it referred to as blasphemous caricatures. Amongst the websites blocked are Facebook and the popular video-sharing YouTube. This has apparently been done in a bid to stop the flow of blasphemous materials amid countrywide protests. Before […]

SEOUL (17 May 2010) – At the end of his 12-day country mission, UN Special Rapporteur Frank La Rue noted that the Republic of Korea has come a long way since the restoration in 1987 of a multi-party political system. However, he expressed concern that “since the candlelight demonstrations, the full respect for human rights, […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to inform you of another raft of charges against a journalist in Burma who was sentenced to a long prison sentence and whose appeal against imprisonment has so far been unsuccessful. Young journalist Ma Hla Hla Win appealed at the end of April against her 27-year […]

Danilo Reyes The island of Negros is divided into two dominant languages–Cebuano in the east and Hiligaynon in the west. The accent, words and the meaning of the spoken word in these languages is unique and different in their own way. However, to a certain extent a Cebuano speaker like me, with some basic knowledge […]

“In what country do you appoint an arsonist to put out fires?” Reporters without Borders asked today after learning that Mervyn Silva, a politician notorious for insulting and physically attacking journalists, has been appointed deputy minister of media and information. Labour minister in the last government, Silva was confirmed in his new post by parliament […]

23 April 2010 Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders is extremely concerned about the impact on press freedom of the political in Thailand and reiterates its appeal to all parties to respect and guarantee the work of the press. “The gravity of this crisis reinforces the need to respect the free flow of news and […]

(April 15, 2010) “It is playing with death to work as a journalist in Bajaur,” a journalist in this Tribal Area told Reporters Without Borders after yesterday’s attempted abduction of one of his colleagues, Imran Khan, in Khar, a town in Bajaur. Khan and his sister were both seriously injured when resisting the kidnap attempt […]

Dear friends,  A radio station in Indonesia – Radio Era Baru – has been forcibly shut down by police in an alleged act of censorship. An investigation by the country’s human rights commission has concluded that the move was in response to pressure from Chinese officials, who objected to the station’s airing of criticism of […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission joins other concerned groups and individuals around the world to condemn the blocking in Thailand of 36 websites. The websites were blocked under a state of emergency that the unelected Prime Minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, declared on 7 April 2010 in response to continued protests in Bangkok. Most of the 36 […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission expresses its shock at the most . On March 22, 2010 a mob which arrived on a bus attacked the Sirasa TV building with stones. The crowd came well prepared for this attack and continued it for some time. Sirasa TV is one of the most well-known media institutions in […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that a criminal investigator restrained and struck a fisheries union leader while he was detained at Negombo Police Station. Though police assault is classified as torture under Sri Lankan law it remains common and little addressed, and must be met with a criminal investigation. The […]

The banning of books by the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) and the withdrawal of movies by the Film Censorship Board (LSF) in the name of public order and state unity are unacceptable, as they contribute to the culture of impunity in Indonesia and are a serious attack on the freedom of expression. Without discussing human […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that police have tortured a 30-year-old man to force him to confess a theft and kept him under illegal detention for nine days. The police also let him be beaten up by villagers after announcing his ‘confession’. He was arrested along with three other […]

While the military regime in Burma has iterated that it will hold a general election for a new legislature before the end of 2010, government officials have been relentlessly pursuing, intimidating and imprisoning political opponents. In recent weeks the Asian Human Rights Commission has issued appeals on a number of such cases, including the sentencing […]

After last year’s by and large peaceful general elections, Indonesia is internationally accepted as a democratic country that upholds fundamental human rights. Within ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), Indonesia tries to position itself as a regional vanguard of human rights protection, as last witnessed by its role in the creation of an ASEAN human […]

Basil Fernando The voice of Manorani Saravanamuttu was heard loudly during the last decade of the twentieth century, protesting strongly against disappearances in Sri Lanka. The voice of Sandya Ekanaliyagoda is now heard on the same issue. Both voices are echoing the similar voices of tens of thousands of mothers, wives, sisters and daughters of […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has already issued an open letter on the case of Dr. Wint Thu and eight other people who in December 2009 were given long jail terms for alleged offences against the state in Burma after they were tortured into giving confessions that the police used in court. […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the disappearance of journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda shortly after he wrote articles supporting the presidential opposition candidate. His office was ransacked shortly after, the website he writes for was blocked during the election, and there have been delays and flaws in the police investigation. […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is concerned about the health and security of a journalist who was extensively tortured by the Kotowali police in Rangpur, and is now in hiding. He sustained various injuries while being tortured in a police van, and was arbitrarily detained, before being faced with clearly fabricated charges […]