Human rights defenders

Dear friends,  In recent months many protests and demonstrations have taken place in the country. Lawyers frequently attend such events in order to monitor police violence against protestors and demonstrators. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has documented one case which shows that a lawyer on the site appealing against the illegal arrest of demonstrators […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that three mining activists are still missing, months after being seen in the custody of soldiers, after their forcible abduction in March 2010. The victims’ families have been unable to secure their release or pursue effective legal action against the soldiers, due to […]

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following statement from Amnesty International. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- A Statement from Amnesty International forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission GAZA: Call for International Inquiry into Activist Killings Dear Supporter, At least ten civilian activists protesting against the blockade on the Gaza […]

Dear Friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that 11 farmers, including four minors, were arbitrarily detained. Legally non-existent charges have been laid against them after the policemen arrested them. The farmers were requesting the landowner’s representative, who had come together with the policemen in Calamba City, Laguna to refrain from […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned of another case of a human rights lawyer in Burma whose licence to practice was revoked after being released from prison. The lawyer, Ko Phoe Phyu, was freed after heavy pressure from the International Labour Organisation as he had been imprisoned for representing villagers in […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about the case of a human rights defender tortured by the police in Imphal, Manipur state. It is reported that the police arrested and tortured the victim, Oinam Bikramjit, in custody. The victim fears that he will be re-arrested and tortured if he takes […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that a lawyer in Manipur is in a severe condition following torture in custody. So far no proper investigation has been conducted and no complaint has been registered. It is believed that the victim’s injuries may be fatal.  CASE DETAILS:  Mr. Ramananda Taorem is a […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received news that a human rights defender who was released from jail in September is facing a new criminal trial under the same charges. She served more than a year in jail because of complaints she made against local officials, but is facing another trial along […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received further details of how the military and police used psychological torture methods on the 43 health workers who are continuously being held in a military camp. The 43 victims, two of whom had been tortured in the past, were illegally arrested on questionable charges in […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that two activists, whose illegal arrest and torture we reported in September 2008, have been rearrested and are being held in a military camp with 41 others. The two were illegally arrested together with 41 others while they were conducting training on health […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed that the Court of Appeals (CA) in Manila, where the 43 health workers filed a petition for habeas corpus questioning the legality of their continuing detention at the military camp, is due to decide on the petition this week. The other 22 victims have […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that three peasant community organizers who were illegally arrested, tortured and laid with questionable charges in November 23, 2009 are still being detained. They were held for 17 days in a military camp on the pretext of being a security risk where they […]

After the Yongsan incident took place in January 21, 2009 (please also refer to AHRC-FUA-001-2009), the bodies of those killed during the incident had been kept in the Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital in Seoul. Their relatives had stayed in the hospital together with rights activists against whom the arrest warrants were issued since the incident […]

Menghaobi, alias Ms. Irom Chanu Sharmila, more known as Manipur’s beacon of peace and hope, received the Lifetime Achievement Award on 26 January. Sharmila shares the award with Mr. Tenzing Tsude, Prof. Hassan Mansoor, Fr. Claude, Mr. Abhay Sahoo, Mr. Prasanta Paikray, Mr. Cherkadi Rama Chandra Rao, Mr. H. Ganapati Appa Sagara, Ms. Anasuyamma Allalasandra […]

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 […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and the Front Line are pleased to inform you of the release of Mr. Jiten Yumnam and seven other persons from custody in Manipur state, India. The administration released the detainees on 7 January. Jiten is a human rights defender and freelance journalist working in the Indian state of […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a human rights defender is under death threats from retired army men for arranging a love marriage for a girl from a higher caste with a person from a lower caste. The police of the area could not provide security for the couple […]

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), condemns the wave of arrests hitting dozens of human rights defenders since yesterday, including journalist Emad Baghi and the sister of co-founder of the Defenders of Human Rights […]

23 December 2009 His Excellency the Prime Minister CC: H.E. Minister of Justice Director General of Department of Special Investigation Since your ascension to the premiership, you have fervently declared to public your intention to set up a special committee to restore inquiries into important cases that have gained much attention from society. Previous governments […]

(“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 […]