Human rights defenders

Press Release from the May 18 Memorial Foundation forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) The May 18 Memorial Foundation Calls for Nominations for the 2019 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights The May 18 Memorial Foundation is pleased to announce the call for 2019 nominations for the following Prizes: 1. The Gwangju Prize for […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Ms. Anshu Gurung, a human rights defender and writer, is in hiding, fearing for her life. After Anshu wrote an article on her experiences at Osho Tapoban International in Nepal, Swami Ananda Arun and his followers have been publicly harassing her and threatening […]

This week Just Asia begins with Bangladesh, where the government has intensified crackdowns on civil society prior to December’s general elections. Most recently, prominent freedom-fighter and civil society actor Dr. Zafrullah Chowdhury and his institutions have come under terrorist attacks, while the pro-government media has been maligning Dr. Badul Alam Majumdar, head of the Hunger […]

This week Just Asia begins with Pakistan, where the overruling of Asia Bibi’s blasphemy conviction and death sentence last week has mired the country in protests. To end the protests, the government made a deal with the Islamist hardliners, where Asia Bibi would remain in Pakistan while a final review of the Supreme Court ruling […]

This week Just Asia begins with Bangladesh, where police arrested a prominent government critic on Monday. Police said Moinul Hosein, a top lawyer and publisher of an English daily, was detained after Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina slammed him for his comments against a pro-government female journalist. His arrest comes in the wake of a recent government […]

This week Just Asia begins with Indonesia’s Central Sulawesi province, which was hit by a 7.5-magnitude earthquake last Friday, followed by a tsunami. Official figures are reporting the deaths of 1,234 people. Indonesia’s geophysics agency (BMKG) has faced criticism over its handling of a tsunami warning. Indonesian President Joko Widodo is accepting international help for […]

This week Just Asia begins with India, where three police constables were suspended in an incident that went viral. A few days ago a video showing four constables in the state of Uttar Pradesh, slapping and abusing a woman in a car for befriending a man of another religion, went viral. The police allegedly apprehended […]

By Yusron Zainuri, a survival of Tanjung Priok 1984 massacre Peristiwa berdarah Tanjung priok 84 merupakan Tragedi kemanusiaan yg pernah ada. Hari ini 34 tahun yang lalu, gejolak politik melalui pemaksaan” sikap politik” penguasa pada saat itu telah menimbulkan reaksi masyarakat dari kampus hingga kekampung dari kaum intlektual hingga rakyat biasa. Kondisi ini tentunya sangat […]

This week Just Asia begins with India, where the Supreme Court has decriminalized sexuality. In a landmark and much-awaited judgment, the country’s top court held that Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code violates Articles 14,15,19 and 21 of the Constitution of India, insofar as it criminalizes consensual sexual acts between adults in private. India […]

On 12 December 2017, two Burmese journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, were arrested through a police sting operation in Yangon, and charged with breach of the Official Secrets Act, 1923. The Yangon district court filed charges against them under Section 3.1 (c) of the Act that penalises a person who “obtains, collects, records […]

This week Just Asia begins with Thailand, where 181 ethnic minority refugees and asylum seekers, most with UN refugee status, were arrested on August 28. Including some 50 children, the detainees are mostly from the Montagnard population in Vietnam and Cambodia. The arresting officials showed little knowledge about refugees, or government obligations to protect them. […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) strongly condemns the custodial death of Ram Manohar Yadav, 30, a resident of Janaki Rural Municipality, Banke district. Yadav died in Police custody while on the way to Kathmandu for medical treatment. Police had admitted him to the Bardiya District Hospital in Gulariya and subsequently to the Bheri Zonal […]

On the 28th of August 2018, several raids and arrests were made by the Pune Police across India. These raids were on the homes of well-known Human Rights Defenders, Advocates and Activists. The rationale behind the raids and arrests kept changing although two charges remained constant. First accused were those arrested as having instigated a caste […]

On 25 June 2018, a CBI Special Court in Thiruvananthapuram awarded the death penalty to two police officers accused of murder in a custodial death case for the first time, while another three accused are facing three years in jail. The case is infamously known as the ‘Urutti Kola’ case due to the torture technique used; the rolling […]

This week Just Asia begins with Pakistan, where 14 schools have been attacked by militants. Last Friday and Saturday saw schools in the Diamer district of Gilgit-Baltistan ransacked, torched and destroyed. Most of the schools were for girls. No one was hurt, as the buildings were closed at the time of attack. Nobel Peace Prize […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been watching Nepal’s political drama unfold over the past month with great concern. The main characters in this drama are Acting Chief Justice Deepak Raj Joshee, who is the nominee for the Chief Justice, the government and the 15 members Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee (PHSC). The Constitutional Committee […]

This week Just Asia begins with India, where two police officers have been awarded the death penalty for the custodial torture and death of 27-year-old Udaya Kumara in Kerala in 2005. For more than 10 years, Udaya’s mother was steadfast in her pursuit of justice. Udaya’s case is a reminder not only of police brutality […]

This week Just Asia begins with Nepal, where justice is finally being served to Ganga Maya Adhikari. Ganga Maya had been staging a fast-unto-death at Bir Hospital demanding stringent action against the murderer of her son. The main culprit, Chhabilal Poudel, has surrendered before the Supreme Court, and is now in jail awaiting trial. The government has […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) salutes the undeterred courage of Dr. Govinda K.C., who singlehandedly brought Nepal’s government to its knees after staging a fast-unto-death hunger strike for 27 days. Dr. Govinda K.C. started his 15th hunger strike from Jumla district on 30 June 2018, demanding that the medical education law should be drafted based on […]

Bangladesh’s human rights situation has alarmingly deteriorated over the past years, and it tends to get worse. Exercising of basic freedoms by the ordinary people appears to be impossible under the current regime. Freedom of peaceful assembly and association is being denied and dealt with cruelty. Both the law enforcement agencies of the state and […]