Judicial system

PAKISTAN: Police officials kidnap and arbitrarily detain a labourer for ransom

[NOTICE: The AHRC has developed this 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 […]

SRI LANKA: A torture victim’s life is in danger at Moratuwa Police Station

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding illegal arrest and detention of a person named Mr. Sarath Kumara Naitos. The Moratuwa police arrested him on 5 July from his work place and charged him with theft. He was beaten at the time of arrest and while in detention. The police […]

CAMBODIA: A journalist and son shot dead in Phnom Penh

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that a journalist named Khim Sambor who worked for a local newspaper, Moneaksekar Khmer, and his son were shot dead on 11 July in Phnom Penh.  Both father and son were travelling on a motorcycle after finishing their exercise at the city’s Olympic stadium when […]

CAMBODIA: Police allegedly extort bribes in arrest in Rattanakiri province

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that the police allegedly ordered parents to pay a bribe of 150000 riels (US$37.5) each if their sons were not to be arrested after these youths had damaged a party sign in Soeung commune, Bor Keo district, Rattankiri province. On 2 July 2008, they arrested […]

PAKISTAN: Perpetrators of murder enjoy impunity

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a peasant was murdered, one was abducted and several more were injured in an attack by a powerful group. After the passing of almost three months no one has yet been arrested. A session court has rejected the application for anticipatory bail before […]

BURMA: Another person charged with sedition for protesting against price rises

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has obtained detailed information on the case of Ko Htin Kyaw, one of the persons who was illegally detained in Burma since August 2007 for being involved in the first protests against the sudden increases in fuel prices that led to the monk-led nationwide rallies in September. […]

PAKISTAN: Threat of death of a young couple under the name of honour killing

[NOTICE: The AHRC has developed this 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 […]

UPDATE (Indonesia): Decree banning religious group must be revoked

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes with deep concern on the issuance of a decree banning a religious minority, Ahmadiyah, from spreading their religious practices by the government on 9 June 2008. The AHRC is concerned that the decree would encourage other Muslim groups critical of them to carry out more attacks […]

BURMA: Elderly protestor wrongly detained, tried and imprisoned

Dear friends, While the Cyclone Nargis tragedy has continued, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has at the same time been closely following the ongoing cases against persons detained and tried in Burma after the nationwide protests of 2007. In this appeal we bring you details of the illegal detaining and trial of U Ohn […]

BURMA: Leading comedian working for cyclone victims arrested

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you that Zarganar, a famous comedian in Burma who has been leading some of the relief efforts after Cyclone Nargis, had his house searched and was taken away last night, June 4. CASE DETAILS: According to information from a number of sources, around seven […]

CAMBODIA: Police report a man drowned in water of hardly a meter depth

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that a man was found dead with a broken neck and severe injuries on his head in a river in Takeo province on 8 May 2008. The police have classified the case as accidental drowning. It is suspected that the man’s death was a political […]

UPDATE (Philippines): Supreme Court must act promptly to petition for review to an appeal court’s decision affirming conviction

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that following the Court of Appeals (CA) conclusion of its appellate review affirming the conviction imposed by a lower court on the Abadilla Five, the lawyers for the accused are seeking to nullify the CA’s decision on April 1. They filed a Petition […]

BURMA: Young woman and man illegally held and charged without evidence over protests

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you that a young woman and young man are among those persons currently being tried in courts in Burma over their alleged roles in the nationwide protests of last August and September. The two were illegally held without charge for months before being brought […]

UPDATE (Indonesia): Autopsy revealed that four deceased were shot and several were injured

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information from the Legal Aid Institute of Surabaya (LBH Surabaya) that autopsy reports confirmed that four persons died due to gunshots. Several others were injured due to shooting by naval officers. Questions have been raised on the fairness of the trial and possibility of […]

BURMA: Local officials illegally confiscate land from elderly farmer

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has obtained detailed information about a case of land confiscation in the delta region of Burma. Officials in Pantanaw illegally confiscated land belonging to elderly farmer Daw Thein Hmyin after she made a complaint that one had encroached on one of her smallholdings. Although she has written […]

UPDATE (Sri Lanka): Inaction of the Attorney General to appeal the case of Gerald Perera

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you that the Attorney General (AG) has, at the time of writing, failed to appeal the case of Gerald Perera even though there are serious grounds on which to pursue this case (AHRC-STM-088-2008). The AHRC, once again, kindly asks for your immediate intervention in […]

UPDATE (Sri Lanka): Police accused of Gerald Perera’s torture are acquitted

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you that the accused police officers responsible for the torture of Gerald Perera, who was later assassinated before giving evidence before a court, were acquitted by the Negombo High Court on 2 April 2008. This judgment is extremely dangerous as hereafter persons who want […]

SRI LANKA: Whereabouts unknown of a man detained for questioning

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding another case in which the whereabouts of a man remain unknown after arrest in Colombo, allegedly by officers from the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) on 20 March 2008. CASE DETAILS: According to the information received, at around 9:30pm on March 20, seven persons […]

SRI LANKA: A comment on the Negombo High Court judgment on Gerald Perera’s torture case: When two and two equals five

What if some one says that and asks you to disprove it?  Or, if a whole society or even a large part of it begins to believe in fact that two and two is five.  This may be dismissed by some as pure fantasy.  However, in many matters regarding society, particularly in matters relating to […]

BANGLADESH: Police allegedly mishandle a case

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the police authorities have allegedly received bribes for arbitrarily arresting people from a community involved in a case land dispute. It is reported that when the villagers exposed corruption of the police and the harassment they were suffering, the police threatened them to […]