Judicial system

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the case of the rape of a 17-year-old girl after her abduction allegedly by a politician on 17 December 2007. While the Biyagama police have commenced an investigation into this case they have failed to secure the family’s safety despite the fact that […]

A few suggestions to remove ambiguities from the AHRC History is being made in the National Assembly of Pakistan. The Speaker was elected and the debates have already begun. True to the pledge given to the voters to restore the chief justice and all the other judges who were ousted, a resolution has already been […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been documenting cases of illegal arrest, detention and prosecution since the nationwide protests in Burma last September. In this appeal we give the details of the case of one young man who was arrested because of having some publications linked to those events and after a […]

A media report implies serious questions about the credibility of Bangladesh’s criminal justice system, including the investigation, prosecution and the judiciary, as well as the qualifications of the concerned professionals in those institutions. A Dhaka based national daily newspaper, The Prothom Alo, reported on 13 March 2008 that a court convicted three persons to rigorous imprisonment […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is gravely concerned about the case of a young woman who was arrested coming into Burma from neighbouring Thailand and charged with illegal immigration, joining in illegal associations and sedition. The laying of charges and the passing of sentences against Ma Thanda were all in violation of […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the death sentence of a man from minority community, who is due to be executed on 12 March 2008. He was charged with murder however, he was allegedly severely tortured after the illegal arrest. It is also alleged that he was not provided […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the extra-judicial killing of 13 men by the authorities in Sahiwal district, Punjab province on 10 February 2008. Police appear to have carried out the murders in the guise of an ‘encounter killing’. Their bodies were immediately buried without autopsies having been done […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is aggrieved to share the news of the continuing extrajudicial killings of civilian men, women and even children in Sri Lanka. A claymore mine targeted at a bus carrying civilians, most of whom were school children, killed 6 civilians and 12 children in Thatchanamadhu in the Mannar […]