Impunity

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the arrest, detention, and torture of a man charged for cannabis possession. The arrest of Dany Lastino was conducted by two police officers, following an unverified report submitted over the phone by an unidentified caller. The arrest and torture has taken place just […]

‘Lawyers for Democracy’ is dismayed at the appointment of Major General (Rtd) G. A. Chandrasiri as the Governor of the Northern Province disregarding repeated calls by the Chief Minister of the Northern Province Dr. C. V. Vigneshwaran and the TNA to appoint a non military person as the Governor.  The appointment of Major General (Rtd) […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you that four journalists who wrote an investigative article about an army facility in Burma have been sentenced to ten years in jail, along with their editor. The conviction is clearly intended to intimidate the print media in Burma, or Myanmar, at a time […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission is gravely concerned that during the past two weeks, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), the ruling military junta, has revoked the passports of at least nine Thai citizens. According to reports from Prachataiand statements from the Ministry of Affairs, the passports of Junya Yimprasert, Somsak Jeamteerasakul, Pavin Chachavalpongpun, […]

Indonesia is the special focus for the 35th episode of Human Rights Asia Weekly Roundup. Millions of Indonesians have cast their vote to choose the country’s next President. Competing in the election are two candidates, military man Prabowo Subianto and Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo. Official results will be announced on July 22, but a quick count has […]

The National Secretariat for Non Governmental Organizations, functioning under the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development, issued a letter to all registered Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) on the 1st of July 2014. The letter attempts to forbid NGOs from conducting press conferences, workshops, training for journalists, and to stop them disseminating press releases. The letter attempts […]

An article from the ‘The Island’ forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission by Maheen Senanayake “No man has a natural right to commit aggression on the equal rights of another.” – Thomas Jefferson I found Mr. Upul Jayasuriya, incumbent head of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, getting ready for the customary BASL meeting on […]

A National Secretariat functioning under Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Defence and Urban Development has issued a curious letter on 1 July 2014. The following is the letter in full: MINISTRY OF DEFENCE AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT National Secretariat for Non Governmental Organizations To All Non Governmental Organizations Non Governmental Organizations acting beyond their mandate It has […]

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 […]

Attached Communication was issued under the hand of the Director of National Secratariat of NGOs, an arm of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) recently. The MoD does not enjoy any specific legal authority under any statute whatsoever to control  freedom of speech and association of citizens,  who act collectively through civil society organisations. In the […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that  military officers –  three Lieutenant Colonels and the other a  Major in the Pakistan Army , fired live bullets into a peaceful protest by  farmers and later attacked them resulting in killing 02 farmers on the spot, and causing injuries to 29 others, […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information concerning a case of human trafficking and child and bonded labour at a brick kiln, from GURIA, a human rights organisation working in Varanasi, located in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The details of the case suggest that state government officers, including the […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information to the effect that three young persons have been arrested and taken to an undisclosed locations where they are allegedly being held. These persons were arrested while they were returning home from a picnic and have been with their families including, women and children […]

A statement from the Friday Forum, Colombo, Sri Lanka forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission There have been several news reports recently about a surge of instances of baby elephants taken illegally from the wild and held in captivity by private individuals. Environmentalists and members of the public have expressed their concern. The Friday […]

by Avinash Pandey The phone calls were going unanswered. A group of men had broken into a female friend’s house and were holding her hostage. I was frantically calling the Senior Superintendent of Police, the local police station, and officials in the district administration. Every passing minute sent shivers down my spine. I thought to […]

by Basil Fernando The video footage is fairly clear. First we see a tall policeman wearing a helmet standing with his arm stretched towards the other side of the road. Then we see a scooter stopped just next to him. There is one man sat on the scooter. Looking closer, we see that the policeman […]

Yarsagumba (caterpillar fungus), a herb prized for its medicinal value, and cash worth NRs. 40 million has been looted from the Phoksundo Village Development Committee (VDC), located in the highlands of Dolpa district in Nepal. This incident of gang robbery is within a day’s walk from the site where a violent police crackdown on the local […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the student of a prestigious college in the Kandy District was assaulted by a state educational officer in public. She was subsequently treated at the Kandy Hospital and later examined by a Judicial Medical Officer. The victim complained to the police authorities in […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding another case of torture and the fabrication of charges in Jakarta. The victim was reported to have been taken to an unidentified location and tortured before finally being taken to Jakarta District Police station. His family was not promptly informed on his arrest […]

by Bushra Khaliq Torture in police custody is a serious problem in Pakistan, rupturing the serious standards of social contract between the state and society. The menace of custodial torture has become endemic and adversely impacts on the individuals as well as society as a whole. This results in the loss of rule of law […]