Human rights defenders

INDIA: Human rights activists and organisations allegedly harassed and prevented from functioning by the District Magistrate of Leh in Jammu and Kashmir

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and human rights activists in Leh district of Jammu and Kashmir are allegedly harassed by the District Magistrate of Leh Mr. M. K. Dwivedi. It is alleged that the Magistrate has issued arbitrary orders forcing the closure of some […]

UPDATE (Thailand): No action against police chief over threats to human rights defender

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is concerned that over two weeks after the police chief in Thailand made an unwarranted verbal attack on human rights defender Angkhana Neelaphaijit no action of any kind was taken against him. Furthermore, the chief has appointed another senior officer as a deputy who was responsible for […]

INDIA: Labour rights activist allegedly implicated in a false case by the police

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that one renowned trade union activist and human rights defender namely Mr. Phani Gopal Bhattacharya, has allegedly been implicated along with 25 persons in a false case by the Bally police station, Howrah district, West Bengal state, India on 10 March 2007. Mr. Bhattacharya […]

THAILAND: Acting police chief must retract unwarranted verbal attack on human rights defender Angkhana Neelaphaijit

The acting police chief of Thailand on Monday, 12 March 2007 made a verbal attack on . The Manager online newspaper quoted Pol. Gen. Seripisuth Themiyavet as saying that Angkhana should be taught to “shut up” about the case of her husband, lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit, who was abducted by police three years ago and whose […]

THAILAND: AHRC fund for Somchai Neelaphaijit memorial marker

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has requested the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration to permit the construction of a small marker at the site of the 12 March 2004 abduction of human rights lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit, who after three years remains missing (AHRC-OL-010-2007). As noted in the letter to the governor of Bangkok, the making of […]

THAILAND: Request to permit construction of marker in recognition of Somchai Neelaphajit and other disappeared

You will be familiar with the case of Somchai Neelaphaijit, the human rights lawyer who was forcibly disappeared in Bangkok on the night of 12 March 2004 after he had publicly alleged that five of his clients were tortured. The Criminal Court, former prime minister and head of the Council for National Security have all […]

NEPAL: Legal aid NGO is denied access to detainees for their attempt to file a murder case against state security forces

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that Advocacy Forum, one of the leading human rights organizations in Nepal providing legal aid services to detainees, has been refused access to prisoners at the Kanchanpur detention centre since 7 February 2007.  The organisation has been allegedly accused of meddling with police matters for […]

INDIA: Intervention sought to secure release of human rights defender held on fabricated charges

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is writing to you to seek your intervention into the case of a human rights defender wrongly detained on fabricated charges by the police in Murshidabad district of West Bengal, India. Gopen Sharma has been held in prison since February 8 on frivolous and fabricated charges. His repeated bail […]

UPDATE (India): Gopen’s bail application unreasonably rejected

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information from its local parter in West Bengal, MASUM, about Mr. Gopen Sharma, who was illegally arrested and is currently detained based on a frivolous charge (See further: UA-045-2007). We were informed that the bail application for Mr. Goepn was again rejected on February 26, […]

INDIA: Human rights activist detained in police custody on a frivolous charge

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from its local partner the Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), a human rights organisation based in Howrah, West Bengal, India that one their activists have been detained at the Raninagar police station based an a frivolous charge. It is also alleged that Mr. Gopen […]

INDIA: Police inaction in alleged assault and death threat against a human rights activist

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from its local partner the People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) based in Uttar Pradesh, India, regarding an alleged assault and death threat against a human rights activist. It is alleged that a few men associated with the village-head of Pindra village under […]

BANGLADESH: Human rights defender and father hiding due to army harassment in Khulna

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed that a human rights defender namely Mr. F M Abdur Razzak and his father, Mr. Nur Ali Fakir, were summoned twice by the Army in Paikgachha under Khulna district on 24 January 2007. The army asked them to meet the army officers following an […]

INDIA: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India fails to provide adequate remedy to a human rights defender in Uttar Pradesh

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you that the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India fails to provide adequate remedy to Dr. Lenin Raghuvansi, who had complained to the Commission regarding an attempted assassination on his life by the police.   He is a human rights activist working for the […]

INDIA: Re: Failure to provide adequate remedy under Article 2 of the ICCPR and under the law in India for a human rights defender who has complained of an attempted assassination on his life and further blackmail by the police

I refer to the complaint made by Dr. Lenin Raghuvansi [please refer to your case number 5840/24/97-98] of a well planned assassination attempt on his life. The attempt was on 18.02.1998. He has given detailed information that his house was surrounded by police officers from Ramnagar police station in an attempt to assassinate him the […]

UPDATE (India): Cases registered against Guria must be expedited

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the case of human rights activists associated with Guria, that the case is dragging on in the court in spite of all the attempts to expedite the proceedings. Guria is a human rights organisation based in Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh state of […]

UPDATE (Indonesia): Calls for official review of the supreme court acquittal of prime suspect in Munir’s murder case

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the recent developments in the investigation and prosecutory trial of the murder of the late human rights activist, Mr. Munir Said Thalib. Munir died of arsenic poisoning aboard a Garuda Indonesia airways flight destined for Amsterdam on 7 September 2004.  UPDATED INFORMATION: […]

UPDATE (India): Human rights organisation likely to be destroyed by malicious police action

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the situation of the human rights activists associated with the People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) who were charged with a false case on 9 December 2007. The AHRC has been informed that the local administration led by the District Magistrate […]

INDIA: A college teacher arrested and tortured in Manipur

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the case of Mr. Abujam Shidam, a college teacher in Mapipur who was arrested on fabricated charges and tortured while in custody by the Manipur State Police. The case reported by the Human Rights Alert, a local human rights organisation based in Imphal, […]

UPDATE (Bangladesh): Mr. Akash faces three alleged false charges; Judge issued warrant against him

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information on January 7, 2008 that Akash, a human rights defender as well as journalist, has been facing several allegedly false extortion charges in Rajshahi Bangladesh. Even though a vacation bench of the High Court granted him bail on October 16 on one of […]

CAMBODIA: Forced eviction of 229 families in Sihanoukville

[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 […]