Freedom of expression

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been closely following the case of democracy activist Kyaw Zaw Lwin, whom the military regime in Burma has accused of involvement in a bombing plot. Authorities at the airport arrested him in September 2009 and he has been tried for a number of offences but none […]

A journalist was attacked and seriously injured by office bearers of a political party, the Sindh Nationalist Front (SNF), on December 31, 2009, near the Hyderabad Press Club, Hyderabad City, Sindh province. A senior newspaper journalist, Mr. Mohammad Hussain Khan, was attacked and injured when he was on the way to the Press Club. He […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Right Commission (AHRC) has been informed that the Indonesian police shot at, arrested and intimidated peasants who were protesting against the alleged illegal occupation of their land by a government-owned plantation company. The land workers have been protesting regularly for years, but rather than address their concerns, the local authorities […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is seeking your support in calling upon the members of the Philippine Congress to revoke Proclamation No. 1959, which has been signed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and has declared a state of martial law in Maguindanao. It suspends the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, and […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is closely monitoring the investigation into the massacre in Maguindanao on November 23, which left 57 people dead, among them two human rights lawyers and 30 local journalists. The AHRC is deeply concerned for the safety of three journalists who escaped. More than a week into the […]

(“We don’t care about it, we don’t know about it” – the Acting Head of the Provincial Police)     As it has been widely reported, 57 people-including two human rights lawyers and 30 journalists – were slaughtered on November 23 in Maguindanao, a province in central Mindanao. While much of the stories and worldwide […]

On 23 October 2009, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights defenders, Ms. Margaret Sekaggya (Uganda), called on States in the Third Committee of the General Assembly to do away with laws that required NGOs to register before they could operate. She was concerned that States were increasingly using security and counter-terrorism laws or more […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Right Commission (AHRC) continues to receive reports of violence perpetrated by police officers against peaceful demonstrators. Most recently police officers attacked a demonstration being held by members of the motorcycle taxi community (known as Ojeg) and the Bau–Bau Legal Aid Institute in Bau–Bau City, injuring six protestors. Though an internal […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is concerned that no one has been held accountable for the shooting of indigenous Papuan Mr. Opinus Tabuni over a year ago during an operation by armed forces, and no progress has been seen in the investigation. Mr. Tabuni was shot dead in Wamena during a celebration […]

Reporters Without Borders was extremely concerned about two rulings clamping down on electronic media that represent a very serious backward step. Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has ordered some radio stations not to broadcast BBC Urdu-language news programmes, while Parliament is preparing to ratify drastic censorship dating from the era of General Pervez Musharraf. […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that two anti-corruption activists have been accused of defamation by the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), after their group publicly pointed out a multi-trillion rupiah gap in the AGO’s annual budget and called for an investigation. The case raises questions about the use of the […]

Fiji falls furthest, but big advance by Maldives Check your country ranking on: http://www.rsf.org/en-classement1003-2009.html Political power grabs dealt press freedom a great disservice again this year. A military coup caused Fiji (152nd) to fall 73 places. Soldiers moved into Fijian news rooms for several weeks and censored articles before they were published, while foreign journalists were […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that a team from the Rapid Action Battalion-10, a paramilitary force involved in maintaining law and order in Bangladesh, tortured a journalist at his house while in their custody, and detained him for more than ten hours. The soldiers made a fabricated video at his […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) continues to receive reports of violence being wrought by soldiers and police against civilians in remote West Papuan villages. In the latest case a joint operation responded to an illegal flag raising by the banned Free Papua Movement with indiscriminate violence against civilians. Soldiers have reportedly burned […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that intimidation tactics are being used against a group advocating labour rights. Men giving a military impression have been openly surveying the office in shifts and photographing visitors to the building. Three of the men also beckoned a volunteer to them, late one night. These […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission has learned that on 22 October 2009 Mr. F. M. Masum, a journalist of an English language national daily newspaper in Bangladesh, was tortured by members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), at his residence in Dhaka. The New Age newspaper reports that at around noon on Thursday a team […]

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM RANKING ASIA-PACIFIC Authoritarianism prevents press freedom progress in much of Asia Fiji falls furthest, but big advance by Maldives Check your country ranking on: http://www.rsf.org/en-classement1003-2009.html Political power grabs dealt press freedom a great disservice again this year. A military coup caused Fiji (152nd) to fall 73 places. Soldiers moved into Fijian news rooms […]

SRI LANKA: Journalist complains of death threats and unknown persons pursuing him (Hong Kong, October 21, 2009) Mr. Senaka Ekanayake, the editor of SATANA, a local newspaper, complained of constant death threats received over the last few days and of unknown persons visiting his house in search of him, in a telephone interview given to […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that three protestors, whom the police had brutally assaulted, arbitrarily arrested and tortured while in custody in May 2009, had been convicted for nine months over false charges of attacks and violence. The protestors were together with several villagers holding a peaceful demonstration […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that on September 14, 2009 the National Intelligence Service (NIS) sued Mr. Park Won-Soon, a human rights lawyer and civil activist, for civil defamation requesting a huge amount of money in damages. The AHRC is concerned that defamation will be used by public authorities […]