Human rights defenders

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 […]

[RE: UA-164-2004: INDONESIA: The family receives death threats for demanding an impartial inquiry into the death of Munir; UP-30-2005: INDONESIA: Unveiling of suspect in Munir’s death may end further inquiries; UP-47-2005: INDONESIA: State intelligence officers delay Munir investigation; UP-72-2005: INDONESIA: Mandate of fact-finding team into Munir’s murder should be extended and made more effective; UP-83-2005: […]

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 […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information from a number of sources on the jailing of two human rights defenders in Burma who were arrested with signatures as part of a petition to have the government release political prisoners (UA-358-2006). The two men, Ko Win Ko and Phyoe Zaw Latt, […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  AS-299-2006 December 4, 2006 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission THAILAND: If not Somchai’s bones, whose bones? According to a news report on the website of The Manager newspaper this Monday, December 4, Dr Khunying Porntip Rojanansunant, acting director of the Central Institute of Forensic Science, has said that DNA […]

[RE: UA-219-2005: PHILIPPINES: Threat against an activist priest; bullets offered after a mass in Bulacan, Luzon] ————————————- PHILIPPINES: Surveillance and intimidation of a human rights defender; early warning of possible extrajudicial killing or forced disappearance; inadequate government action; rule of law ————————————- Dear friends, Since the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) issued its first urgent […]

Dutch and Belgian Lawyers organizations were alarmed by the reports and statements of international and Filipino human rights organizations and various news items about the violence against members of the legal profession in the Philippines. Lawyers and judges are reportedly victims of serious harassment and intimidation while in the exercise of their profession or brutally […]

PHILIPPINES: violence against activist; impartial and independent investigation; collapse of rule of law ———————————– Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you that a church leader in Ilocos Sur was again intimidated by unidentified men on 11 November 2006, while he was hospitalized to receive treatment for his injuries in an […]

[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 […]

In what appears to be a concerted attack on the entire human rights movement in the Philippines, army, civilian and police officials have all made scathing statements describing the work of rights groups there as “propaganda”. On November 15, a group of retired and active senior army officers in the Philippines declared that Amnesty International […]

[RE: UP-20-2005: THAILAND: Human rights lawyer still missing after nearly one year; Action needed today to have case transferred; UP-24-2005: THAILAND: Thai minister refuses to act on missing human rights lawyer case; UP-37-2005: Thai PM orders action on missing human rights lawyer, while court hears of torture; UP-45-2005: Wife of missing human rights lawyer intimidated; […]

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 […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  AS-269-2006 November 1, 2006 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission THAILAND: Somchai, Tak Bai, secrets & lies The head of the military junta overseeing the interim government in Thailand, General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, on October 31 reportedly said that he has information that the mastermind of the 12 March 2004 disappearance […]

[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 […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) deeply regrets to inform you about the killing of another activist and the attempted murder of his companion in Barangay (village) Soledad, San Pablo City, Laguna on October 18, 2006. Eduardo Millares (50), who was an active member of an urban poor group named Samahan ng Magkakapitbahay […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you of two recent killings of the human rights defenders in the south of Thailand. Both had worked for justice to assist victims of state violence in the area. Their deaths come at a time of worsening violence in the south that is set […]

[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 Philippine authorities. We encourage you to send your appeal letters via fax or post to those people. Fax numbers and postal addresses of the Philippine authorities are […]

(RE: UA-164-2004: INDONESIA: The family receives death threats for demanding an impartial inquiry into the death of Munir; UP-30-2005: Unveiling of suspect in Munir’s death may end further inquiries; UP-47-2005: State intelligence officers delay Munir investigation; UP-72-2005: Mandate of fact-finding team into Munir’s murder should be extended and made more effective; UP-83-2005: Police fail to […]

[RE: UA-76-2004: THAILAND: A prominent environmentalist Charoen Wat-aksorn murdered and an independent investigation required; UP-40-2004: THAILAND: Arrest warrant issued against a local politician for the murder of Charoen Wat-aksorn; UP-77-2005: THAILAND: Department of Special Investigation fails to bring justice to Charoen Wat-aksorn case; UP-124-2006: THAILAND: Important programme to commemorate human rights defenders and discuss failed […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission has been informed by the Campaign for Popular Media Reform, Thailand and other rights defenders there about the ongoing criminal libel case against a prominent women’s rights defender. Ticha Na Nakorn was sued in 2003 by the then-police chief over allegations she made about sexual harassment by a […]