Inhuman & degrading treatment

Citing lack of evidence against those accused of killing 22 Dalits in Shankar Bigha of Jehanabad, the district civil court acquitted all of the suspects. Coming a full 15 years after the massacre on the eve of 26 January 1999 – ironically the Republic Day – the verdict is not a standalone case of justice […]

This is a second interview in a series of interviews by the AHRC which seeks views and  comments from jurists on the amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan to establish military courts. Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid, former judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan criticized the establishment of the military courts in order to curb […]

A Statement from the Australia West Papua Association (Sydney) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission This report details incidents of human rights abuses and events that occurred in West Papua during 2014. It is by no means exhaustive. In the report AWPA uses the name “West Papua” to refer to the whole of the […]

A Statement from the Executive Director of the LP3BH forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission   In the middle of the 1930s, a group of experts, Dr Jean Jaques Dozy, Dr A.H. Colijn and Ir F. Wissel who were employees of the Dutch company called NNGPM, went on an expedition to climb  the Cartensz […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Defend Job Philippines about planned eviction of vendors from the Luneta Park in the wake of impending Papal visit to the capital city. The threat is not a new one (previous hunger alert), however the current eviction follows an amicable settlement between the […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Defend Job Philippines about planned eviction of vendors from the Luneta Park in the wake of impending Papal visit to the capital city. The threat is not a new one (previous hunger alert), however the current eviction follows an amicable settlement between the […]

Today, on 7th January 2015, three human rights activists have received death threats over telephone from sources that have refused to identify themselves, but have appeared to be connected with security authorities. The human rights activists who received these death threats are Mr. Brito Fernando, Mr. Phillip Dissanayake and Mr. Prasanga Fernando – all of […]

Two heads of dogs, freshly severed, have been strewn in front of the houses of two well-known human rights defenders as the race in the presidential election is intensifying in Sri Lanka. Mr. Brito Fernando and Prasanga Fernando are two well-known human rights activists who have a long history of fighting for the protection of […]

by Avinash Pandey “Forceful sex on menopausal woman not rape-Delhi High Court” read a news item (title changed now though the URL remains the same) on one media group website. “Delhi High Court Says ‘Forceful Sex’ Wasn’t Rape”, cried another news outlet. Together, the media coverage on the case has opened the floodgates for the […]

The recent escalation in atrocities committed on Dalits is surprising even for Bihar, a province notorious for crimes against members of the community. The only things worse than the state’s failure to stop the crimes are the reasons the crimes are being committed. Can one really burn alive a 15-year-old child for the “crime” of […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that after three years of investigation, the soldiers who tortured a man and set him on fire, have been indicted for torture. The entire process, however, has lacked the transparency the law requires which has contributed to inappropriate delays. It took one year […]

by Avinash Pandey They did not speak Kannada, the language of the state they live in. They, therefore, were “legitimate” targets of violence in a city that has benefitted the most from India’s shift from Nehruvian Socialism to free market economy. The fact that they contribute to the city, and the province’s income, meant nothing. […]

Dear friends, The Terai Human Rights Defenders (THRD) Alliance in Nepal has informed the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) that three teenage children were tortured by three drunk police officers on 26 September 2014. The victims are still waiting for justice and the perpetrators have yet to be charged.  CASE NARRATIVE: Mr. Deepak Thater, the […]

In the 45th episode of Human Rights Asia Weekly Roundup, AHRC TV turns its attention to how failures in the justice apparatuses of Asian states are pushing people to take the law into their own hands. In particular, the programme covers three Asian countries where the system has failed: India, where lawlessness has led to […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission has received information from the Defend Job  Philippines about the forced demolition of roughly 277 houses in Sitio Balacabacan, Laiya, Batangas, Philippines. The demolitions were carried out on 3 July 2014. The AHRC has also learnt that the authorities are intimidating the community which is now living in […]

Protection International and the Asian Human Rights Commission are seriously concerned about the Royal Thai Army’s latest intervention in the conflict between the Wang Saphung community in Loei Province with a neighbouring gold and copper mine.  On Monday, 25 August, the Wang Saphung community organization, the Khon Rak Ban Kerd Group (KBRK), invited community members […]

Farmers from Ngetpyawtine village tract, Kanbalu Township, Sagaing Division, have been instructed by the Township Administrative Office to remove the houses they have built on their own farmland. The administration and the No. 2 Shwe Bo Logistic Battalion have warned the farmers that if they do not dismantle the houses and leave the land, they […]

Police in the Mandalay region of Burma shot farmers who were protesting their land having been grabbed by the military. The protest, which took place this morning (14th August 2014) involved the farmers ploughing the fields that had been taken from them. The farmers are from Nyaung Wine Village, Singu Township, Mandalay Region. Over 6,000 […]

Members of the Insein Criminal Investigation Department (CID) have been threatening relatives of Ko Zin Aung, a local rickshaw driver tortured to death in July this year (AHRC-UAC-110-2014). Ko Moss and Ma Aye Aye Nwe, the brother-in-law and the cousin of the victim respectively, were called, 11th August 2014 to Myo Thit Quarter Administrative Office, […]

Eighteen days have passed since the tragic incident where the arms of a 10-year-old boy were severed from his body by a landlord and to-date, no positive developments have been taken nor has there been any progress in the case against the perpetrators of this horrific crime.  According to reports, doctors are being tight-lipped to […]