Impunity

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Terai Human Rights Defenders Alliance (THRD Alliance) regarding the police having tortured two persons on 30 April 2014. The police took Kalu and Hikmat Chaudhari on their private motorcycles to the Bhasi Police Station and ordered them to sign a document. When they raised […]

by Avinash Pandey “If she had been killed on a street corner in this village, would you even be here?” was the question put to journalist Mehreen Zahra-Malik, by the husband of Farzana Iqbal, a young woman bludgeoned to death in front of the Lahore High Court. Probably not, as violence against women is not […]

It is to the credit of some Buddhist monks that they have taken active role in extending support and protection to the Muslims victim to vicious attacks across Sri Lanka. The attacks began after the Secretary of BBS, Reverend Galagoda-Atte Gnanasara Thera, spoke at a recent meeting at Aluthgama. Image courtesy: The Financial Times, daily […]

by Anjuman Ara Begum* Sexual violence continues in India unabated. The December 2012 gang rape and subsequent death of a 23 year old woman led to a shift in discourse on sexual violence in India. For the first time, the blame shifted from victims to perpetrators, fostering changes in certain colonial era criminal laws. However, […]

by Nilantha Ilangamuwa Many stories revealing many different opinions are coming out. The writers are screaming, refuting, condemning and justifying what has been and their articles show the concerns of many people. Meanwhile, the social media has played a huge role and shared both sides of the story more freely than might have been done […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the Officer-in-Charge of the Thalathuoya Police Station failed to take action on a legitimate complaint of assault by Ms. Shashikala Madubashani Kumari Herath. The complaint was made against the companion of her mother, one Samson Perera. As a result of the police failure to follow the […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding unlawful killing of a young man by the Sri Lankan police. Subash Indika Jayasinghe (24), a resident of Kithuwala, was riding his motorbike in the company of his passenger, Saveen Chathuranga (18) when they were flagged down by officers attached to the Nittambuwa Police […]

Violence has spread in Aluthgama. According to reports, it has so far caused three deaths, as well as injuries to many persons and damage to some Muslim places of worship and gathering. The violence has driven many women and children out of their homes into places of refuge. The man leading this mayhem is a […]

Reviewed by Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena A Book Review: A Sociological Exploration Of Disappearances In Sri Lanka Author: Jane Thomson-Senanayake Print Length: 275 pages Publisher: Asian Human Rights Commission  Date: May 1, 2014  ISBN: 978-955-4597-04-4 Reading through this study by an Australian doctoral researcher Jane Thomson-Senanayake published by the Asian Human Rights Commission, May 2014, I am […]

Three television channels of Pakistan’s most watched and most influential media network  Geo TV, was ordered to be taken off air and shut down for a period of 15 days on the  instruction of the country’s intelligence agency the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate  (ISI). Continuing the attack Geo TV was also baselessly fined a sum of […]

Dear friends,  We wish to share with you the following article from The Sunday Times, written by Kishali Pinto Jayawardena. Asian Human Rights Commission  Hong Kong ————- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AHRC-FAT-017-2014 June 15, 2014 An article from The Sunday Times forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission SRI LANKA: Advocating A Different Political Project by […]

Dear friends,  We wish to share with you the following statement from the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC) Asian Human Rights Commission  Hong Kong ————- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AHRC-FST-039-2014 June 13, 2014 A statement from the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC) by the Asian Human Rights Commission CAMBODIA: statement calling for Thai government […]

Since India’s general election, Uttar Pradesh has witnessed sharp escalation of sexual violence and lawlessness. The rape of a session court judge in her official residence, guarded by the Provincial Armed Constabulary round the clock, highlights the extent of violence and lawlessness in the state. There is no indication that the Uttar Pradesh state government, […]

On the night of June 11, officers attached to the Nittambuwa police station gunned down Subash Indika Jayasinghe, a 24-year-old man, for no reason. A friend named Saveen Chathuranga, 18-years-old, was accompanying Indika. Saveen describes the incident as follows: Indika and Saveen were travelling on Indika’s motorcycle. As there was significant traffic, they were moving […]

By Basil Fernando The major problem affecting all Sri Lankans now, and which is likely to affect future generations, is the complete failure of law enforcement and resulting lawlessness. While virtually everyone is aware of this problem, it is not subject to conversation. For the few who are vocal on matters of public interest, the […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has obtained information that two men who live in an Internally Displaced Persons’ Camp, in Kachin State, in the north of Burma (Myanmar), have disappeared in the area where government forces are active. It has been almost one and half years since they disappeared and their families […]

Today, AHRC TV releases the 30th Episode of the Human Rights Asia Weekly Roundup. The episode opens with analysis of the post-coup situation in Thailand. Tyrell Haberkorn, Thailand expert and Fellow at The Australian National University, speaks with AHRC TV about the military crackdown, continuing arrests, and the ingenious ways of the Thai people to show […]

A young student of 22 year has entered into 46 days of his hunger strike unto death today. His condition is very critical and there are fears of his slipping into coma as he faints most of the time. The government has completely ignored his hunger strike and forget providing medical help has not even […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learnt about the death of two sanitation workers in Hyderabad. They have died while cleaning a gutter, a practice outlawed by the Supreme Court of India. These deaths follow others – one sanitation worker in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, and three in Gujarat – that have taken […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Manoj Singh, a local journalist working with Gorakhpur News Line, regarding the deadly disease Encephalitis, which has struck again in eastern Uttar Pradesh. The toll has already climbed to 60, with monsoons – during which the disease spreads quickly – still distant. Despite […]