Judicial system

On October 22, 2007 the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) received a communication from the government of Kerala in India. The communication, in the form of a letter, dated September 9, 2007 prepared on behalf of the Additional Chief Secretary to the government informs the AHRC that if the AHRC is concerned about incidents of […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) deeply regrets to inform you of the extrajudicial killings of three activists in separate incidents in August and October 2007 in Negros Occidental, the latest in an ongoing series. Two victims: Rodrigo Siacor and Antonio Mercado were shot dead in separate incidents; Siacor front of his son […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed from Pakistan Women’s Lawyer’s Association that the police in Pakistan have been involved in beating, torturing and threatening a French researcher on 20 September 2007 and have not been charged. While no action has been taken against them, the police officials threaten local journalists […]

Dear friends, In this general update on events in Burma, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) concentrates on the following topics: – Details emerging of more deaths during September  – Denial of medical treatment for injured persons – Family members of wanted persons taken as hostages – Special concerns over women prisoners For all statements, […]

On the night of October 18, 2007, two blasts occurred at the welcoming procession of thousands of people, arranged for arrival of Benazir Bhutto, the Chairperson of the Pakistan People Party, after her self exile of eight years. More than 130 people were killed and about 550 injured. The government of Pakistan claims that the […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you that the family of U Than Lwin, who was assaulted in June after leading a prayer meeting in Burma for the release of political prisoners, has been jailed instead of the assailant. Four members of the family and five other people have been […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed that thirteen suspects of the earlier reported extra-judicial killings have been released as their detention period has ended. However, there are still concerns that this case will likely be brought to the military court and a light sentence will be given to those responsible. […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from reliable sources that several judges including the Chief Justice, of the Sindh High Court were threatened by a ruling political party in General Musharraf’s government on accepting the bail applications of several arrested lawyers on 29 September 2007. There were a variety of […]

Dear friends, Further to our previous recent updates on the situation in Burma, this is the first appeal by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) since last week on specific cases of disappearance in Rangoon: it includes details about the disappearance of a 30-year-old mother of two and three teenage sisters, as well as news […]

Dear friends, Further to our previous appeal, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed by a reliable source regarding the killing of six more persons, including a Hindu priest, disappearance of sixteen persons, and threats on persons – women, the elderly and children in Jaffna, Northern Sri Lanka. These incidents occurred from September […]

Dear friends, As has been reported throughout the world, riot police began violently attacking protestors in Rangoon today after they refused to obey instructions to not again take to the streets to call for an end to military rule there (UP-125-2007). Meanwhile, protests have also continued in other parts of the country. Here we give […]

Dear friends, Threats from the military regime in Burma have failed to get thousands of protestors of the streets again today, 25 September 2007. Here the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) gives the latest information and some on events of recent days. Please do everything you can to support the courageous struggle of Burma’s people […]

I am writing this to convey some basic concerns of a group of lawyers, judges and human rights defenders who met at Hong Kong from the 17th to the 21st September to discuss the impact of delays in the administration of justice on the lives of people and on the protection and promotion of human […]

Dear friends, The recent dramatic and historic developments in Burma, with thousands of monks taking to the streets, have received a lot of international attention in recent days. Here the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) gives a short summary of some of the latest events and also add comments and information on some incidents and […]

On 27 September 2006, eight days after the coup that has dragged Thailand back to the dark days of military intervention into all areas of political and social life, the country’s ambassador to the United Nations told the General Assembly that “we can well expect that one of the first tasks of the new civilian […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) deeply regrets to inform you of the continuing occurrence of extrajudicial killings and disappearance in the northern part of Sri Lanka. In August 2007, fifty persons were either found dead or killed; while 38 others have been forcibly disappeared following arrests or abductions. Some of the perpetrators […]

Dear friends, Further to our previous recent updates on the situation in Burma, this is the first appeal by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) on specific cases of sentencing and imprisonment arising out of the protests of the last two months. Here we give the details of a man who has been sent to […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you that six labour rights advocates in Burma have been given long jail terms by a special tribunal in the central prison. They were not represented, as their lawyers quit in protest after being constantly harassed by the prison authorities. Their imprisonment comes after […]

A group of 23 legal professionals and human rights activists from Sri Lanka, Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Cambodia, Bangladesh, China and Thailand gathered in Hong Kong from May 14 to 18, 2007 for the second consultation on the Asian Charter on the Rule of Law, on the topic, Executive Control & Corruption in […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been receiving daily updates on the dramatic protests against mid-August fuel price increases in Burma. On September 6, the protests went to a new level when for the first time the army intervened directly and monks responded by holding officials as hostages. More protests and arrests […]