Human rights defenders

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) deeply regrets to inform you that an indigenous man, protesting against a palm oil company, was shot dead by one of their managers. The victim was killed a month after he and his colleagues had retaken control of 4,000 hectares of their land. The company had refused […]

Dear Friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you about the killing of two activists in separate incidents in Davao province. The victims had been involved in campaigning against the impact of a coal-powered plant, a mining operation and banana plantations in their community. Prior to their killing, the military had accused […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward an appeal from the Human Rights and Peace for Papua – the International Coalition for Papua (ICP) regarding harassment of a Papuan human rights lawyer by the authorities of Indonesia in Papua. For more information, please visit: http://humanrightspapua.org/ . Thank you.  Urgent Appeals Desk  Asian Human […]

Death threats still stand and are repeated against the Wang Saphung community We, the undersigned 18 organisations, are deeply concerned about the Wang Saphung community’s situation. The death threats against 10 community members are still standing. More worryingly, we have been told by community leader MrsVironRujichaiwat – mother of a one-month old baby – that […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission is gravely concerned to have learned that Patiwat (last name withheld), a fifth-year student in the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts at Khon Kaen University and a human rights defender, is facing a criminal investigation in relation to a complaint under Article 112 of the Criminal Code in Thailand. […]

National history is written from a certain perspective. And, it can be rewritten later from other perspectives. However, it should not be forgotten that the purpose of having a national history, which itself underlines certain aspects of national memory, is so that accumulated wisdom from the past can circulate in society. Future generations can utilize […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Defend Job Philippines about the illegal dismissal of the whole leadership of the NXP Workers Union by the management of NXP Semiconductors Philippines, INC. The workers were dismissed on 5 May 2014 on the pretext of their not reporting to work on 9 […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Centre for Social Development and Women Action for Development – two human rights organisations based in Manipur, India – that local politicians are targeting them for exposing corruption in administration. On 12 July, a small mob gathered in front of the office of […]

Targeting Freedom of Expression “It is clear that the freedom of expression and opinion is a fundamental right, the mother of all rights.” – Abid Hussain, UN Special Rapporteur on the Freedom of Information, Speech in Sri Lanka, 1999. A notice has been issued by one D.M.S, Dissanayake as the director/registrar of the NGO Secretariat […]

Photo by Prachatai The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is gravely concernedto have learned that Thanapol Eawsakul, writer, human rights defender, and editor of Fa Diew Kan (Same Sky) journal and publishing house, has been re-arrested and is being held by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). The conditions of his re-arrest and detention are […]

Dear Friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned that a lawyer acting for one of the falsely charged activists is now the subject of targeted threats, overt surveillance and investigations by the government’s intelligence agencies to ascertain if she is a ‘red lawyer’. These threats on her cannot be taken lightly as […]

Today, on 26 June, the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, AHRC TV releases the 33rd episode of Human Rights Asia Weekly Roundup. On this occasion, which honours torture survivors across the world, AHRC TV details the endemic and routine nature of torture in Asia. In particular, the episode focuses on torture in […]

In the recent case of three Rupandehi boys being tortured by two police personnel deployed in the Area Police Offices of Suryapura and Rupandehi, the Court delivered a verdict on 22 June 2014 ordering departmental action against the guilty police personnel and NRs. 3000 compensation to be paid to each of the three victims pursuant […]

Nepal is a country where torture and ill-treatment are widely practised by state and non-state actors. Torture haunts detention centers, and there is no mechanism for the investigation of allegations of torture in the country. The culture of impunity strengthens its hold in Nepal, despite the armed insurgency having ended, and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is pleased to inform you that the charges against Fernando Obedencio, a human rights activist whom we reported to have been tortured, falsely charged and held for nearly nine years, have been dismissed. The court granted his petition to dismiss the fabricated charges of possession of illegal […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that an editor and publisher is facing serious threats to his life from Muslim militants for publishing an autobiography of a retired judge of the Lahore High Court who hails from the Ahmadi sect.   According to reports the religious extremists have raided the office of […]

For the third time, torture victims Raymond Manalo and Oscar Leuterio asked the Ombudsman to resolve the case of kidnapping, arbitrary detention, torture, physical injuries, threat and involuntary servitude and violation of RA 7438 (Rights of Persons Arrested, Detained or under Custodial Investigation) against their military torturers. Manalo and Leuterio were both victims of enforced […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is gravely concerned to have learned that Professor Worachet Pakeerut, an associate professor in the Faculty of Law at Thammasat University, leader of the Khana Nitirat, and human rights defender (HRD), has been charged in the Bangkok Military Court with violating an order of the National Council for Peace […]

Danilo Reyes, deputy director of the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) in Hong Kong, was invited by the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHR) to attend the National Consultation Workshop and Writeshop for the National Preventive Mechanism for two days beginning on April 29, 2014, in Quezon City, Philippines. While attending this program […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) express its deep concern that a security guard who shot dead a farmer has not been arrested despite being identified. The incident occurred four months ago. The victim was with other farmers who were harvesting crops on a disputed land they were cultivating when they were prevented […]