Inhuman & degrading treatment

In retaliation for the recently passed Women’s Protection Act by the Punjab provincial government, Pakistan’s Council of Islamic Ideology has made parallel suggestions for amending the Act, including allowing a husband to lightly beat his wife for defying him, banning co education after primary level, and banning women from receiving male visitors. The Council of […]

This week Just Asia begins with highlights from an exclusive interview with UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Professor Juan E. Mendez. Speaking to the editor of Torture Magazine, Nilantha Ilangamuwa, Mr. Mendez shares his views on various issues, including his most recent visit to Sri Lanka. […]

Discrimination and abuse from police and government officials continues to be faced by transgender rights defenders. Furthermore, many activists have been abducted, beaten, and raped for raising their voice against the atrocities meted out to them. Pakistani society by and large ostracises persons of transgender. Being social outcastes and shunned by their families, many transgender […]

The pattern on display in the Bombay High Court yesterday, 9 May 2016, was not that of the cycle of drought affecting millions. It was that of callous – bordering on malicious – governance. According to media reports, like this one, the Maharashtra state government informed the Court that it would declare drought in over 29,000 […]

In a harrowing incident of honor killing a 16-year girl, Miss Amber, from Makol village near the town of Dunga Gali, distrct Abbottabad Khyber Pakhtun Khuwa (KPK) province was burned alive on 29th April 2016 for helping her friend elope. Because of her help her friend was married The incident caught media attention after a […]

Personnel from the Pakistan Rangers have used brute force against unarmed protesters, causing the death of three Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) employees, who were out protesting against the privatisation of the State owned airlines. The dead include Zubair Ahmed, Manager HR department, Saleem Akbar, I.T Engineer, and Inayat Jafri, a senior officer.The demonstrators assembled peacefully […]

A Press Releasefrom the Nepal Dalit National Social Welfare Organisation (NNDSWO), Dalit NGO Federation (DNF), The Feminist Dalit Organisation (FEDO), and the Jagaran Media Center (JMC) on behalf of the Dalit Civil Society Organisations Coalition and by the International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN)forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) UN Nepal UPR Review calls […]

Earlier this week, Asian Parliamentarians gathered in Hong Kong for the 4th conference of the Asian Alliance Against Torture and Ill-Treatment and for Fair Trial. Three days of discussions on the rule of law, democracy, fair trial, and police reform ensued. AHRC TV documented the event. This episode features snippets from the conference. Don’t miss […]

The Bangladesh Police has again attempted to justify extrajudicial executions with the excuse of “self-defence”. The latest attempt has been made in a media release (original Bangla and unofficial English translation) sent out from the Police Headquarters and circulated to the country’s media on 2 August 2015. In order to hide its crimes of extrajudicial executions, the […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the Nepal police has fired 4 rounds of bullets and several rounds of tear gas canons, in addition to a baton charge, on people watching documentaries of Dr. Raut in Baluwa Bazaar of Mahottari District on Tuesday evening at around 8 p.m. Around 25 people […]

Dear Friends, The Tarai Human Rights Defenders Alliance (THRDA) has informed the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) that a Muslim man, aged 35, resident of Ward 8, Kamdi Village Development Committee (VDC), Banke District, has been tortured by the police. The man has sustained marked blue bruising on his leg, and his hands have swelled […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the shooting and brutal attack on 10 indigenous Papuan youth conducted by police officers of Tigi Police Sector (Polsek Tigi), Deiyai Regency, Papua Province. The attack resulted in the death of Yoteni Agapa (19), while Melianus Mote (21) was seriously injured. Furthermore, eight […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding allegations of gross violation of human rights, which has resulted in five students being killed and 17 others getting injured in Paniai Regency, Papua Province, Indonesia. Up until now, the law enforcement agency and the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) have […]

A total of 180,657 rural households continue to engage in manual scavenging in India, despite the inhuman practice being repeatedly outlawed by the Parliament and Judiciary. This is the state a year after the launch of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission), a flagship scheme of the incumbent government, covering 4,041 statutory towns, aiming to […]

Javeria Younes The mob justice meted out to 13-year-old Samiul Alam Rajon, who was beaten to death in Bangladesh by an angry mob resolute on teaching the youngster a lesson for stealing a bicycle, is a classic case of mob madness witnessed on our streets every day. Throughout Asia, deteriorating rule of law and ineffective […]

An Announcement by the Asian Human Rights Commission This week’s Roundup begins in the Indian state of Kerala. The state government has initiated a process of police reforms. This unique initiative involves enabling the police to undertake scientific crime investigation. AHRC TV interviews AHRC Executive Director Bijo Francis to learn more about the outlook for […]

This week’s Roundup begins in Cambodia, where forty international NGOs are urging for the withdrawal of the draft bill called LANGO, which, if implemented, would severely curtail human rights. The proposed law aims to give government ministries sweeping, arbitrary powers without the possibility of judicial review. Freedoms of peaceful assembly, association, expression and opinion are […]

Pakistan has long been fighting a battle of identity. The objective resolution inserted into the Constitution made Pakistan an Islamic Republic, leaving religious minorities lesser citizens. At the time of its formation, its founding fathers had envisaged a free State where each minority group would have the right to profess their faith without fear of […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you of the threats to and surveillance of various activists and their organizations. Although identities of the perpetrators are unknown, their surveillance style and manner of threat were all common.  CASE DETAILS: (Based on the documentation by Alliance for the Advancement of Peoples Rights (KARAPATAN)) CASE 1: “Call […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you about the lack of protection provided to an indigenous man struggling for his land rights, who survived two attempts on his life. The victim has been targeted by the security guards of a landlord because of his refusal to vacate from his ancestral land. The […]