Freedom of expression

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is gravely concerned by the brutal attack and threats of rape against female opposition council members of the Karachi city government by the council members of the Muttehda Qoumi Movement (MQM), a member of the ruling alliance in President General Musharraf’s government and the ruling party of […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about yet another brutal attack on the protesters of the National Liberation Unity Party (PAPERNAS) by fundamental groups in Jakarta on 28 March 2007. The protesters was about to hold a demonstration against the government’s Foreign Investment Bill, which has been passed at the […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission is pleased to inform you that on Monday, 2 April 2007, the criminal charge against a man who satirised state media in Burma was dropped by the local court. U Thein Zan was released to the applause of a large number of supporters and well-wishers. It appears that […]

Dear friends, In an unusual turn of events, a man who was jailed for angrily satirising state media in Burma has been released on bail paid by two strangers who are suspected to have government connections. U Thein Zan is now at home with his family but must go to court in April. UPDATED INFORMATION: […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received shocking information from local human rights group ODHIKAR regarding the murder of Mr. Khabirul Islam Dulal, Commissioner of Ward No. 6 of the Char Fashion Municipality in Bhola district, allegedly caused by a brutal assault by naval officers on 20 February 2007. Mr. Dulal was […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about a villager in Burma who has been arrested and charged for satirising state news media articles. U Thein Zan was arrested on 5 March 2007 after he stuck doctored state propaganda on his fence. His case has been opened in court and the […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward to you the following statement from the editorial board of Maubima, a Sunday newspaper. Some of their staff are alleged to have been harassed, arrested and detained for political reasons. When this same newspaper attacked the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) baselessly in December […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) would like to inform you new attacks on media workers and organizations in Pakistan. We were informed that the Pakistan government has stopped publishing advertisements of government departments and public firms on the Daily Dawn, one largest English newspaper in Pakistan, since December 2006 allegedly due to its […]

The legal system in Cambodia is today rife with malicious criminal lawsuits by the rich and powerful against apparently innocent persons. The suits have variously related to political parties’ management of assets, land disputes, labour disputes, loan and service contracts, and freedom of expression. Some of those that the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has […]

(Hong Kong, January 17, 2007) A coalition of anti-coup groups has announced new protests against the military junta in Thailand, while another concerned about media freedom has reported a sharp increase in censorship there. The 19 September Anti-Coup Network announced on Wednesday that it will call for street protests on January 19 and 21. “We […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from local human rights organization KONTRAS regarding two separate cases of violence and intimidation against human rights defenders by paramilitary groups in Surabaya and Bandung in Java province on 12 and 14 December 2006 respectively. The unlawful behaviour of the paramilitary groups and the […]

[NOTICE: The AHRC have developed a new automatic letter-sending system using the “button” below. However, in this appeal, we could not include e-mail addresses of some of the Cambodian authorities. We encourage you to send your appeal letters via fax or post to those people. Fax numbers and postal addresses of the Cambodian authorities are […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that a group of indigenous people peacefully marching to protest against land grabbing in the northeastern province of Rattanakiri were dispersed on 19 December 2007. The police used water cannons and briefly took one of the organisers into their custody. This is the […]

[NOTICE: The AHRC have developed a new automatic letter-sending system using the “button” below. However, in this appeal, we could not include e-mail addresses of some of the Cambodian authorities. We encourage you to send your appeal letters via fax or post to those people. Fax numbers and postal addresses of the Cambodian authorities are attached below […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you about the prolonged detention of two farmers in Davao Oriental province, the Philippines. Both of them have been detained for almost three years without any progress in their case because the prosecution witnesses failed to appear in court on six occasions. One of […]

[NOTICE: The AHRC have developed a new automatic letter-sending system using the “button” below. However, in this appeal, we could not include e-mail addresses of some of the Pakistan authorities. We encourage you to send your appeal letters via fax or post to those people. Fax numbers and postal addresses of the Pakistan authorities are attached below […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is writing to you concerning the closure of the Mast FM 103 radio station in Balakot, North West Frontier Province, in response to your letter of 6 November 2006 (Ref. No. F-10-4[109] Gen-2006) informing us that “the matter is closed”. We beg to differ. You will recall that the […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AS-275-2006 November 06, 2006   A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission   INDONESIA: Refusal to cooperate with United Nations human rights mechanisms in investigation of Munir’s death     The wife of celebrated human rights defender Munir Said Thalib, who was poisoned and died on September 7, 2004 under highly […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is pleased to inform you that a prominent women’s rights defender Ticha Na Nakorn, was acquitted on 19 October 2006 in a criminal libel case filed by a former national police chief. Ticha Na Nakorn, the former coordinator of the Women and Constitution Network, and 16 other defendants–journalists […]

THAILAND: Military rule; martial law; threats to human rights defenders; restrictions on freedom of assembly & expression ——————————————————————— Dear friends, The military junta that since September 19 has taken over government in Thailand has shut down at least two critical websites and also numerous local radio stations. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) calls for […]