Judicial system

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the MASUM, a local human rights organization in West Bengal, India, regarding the brutal attack by armed activists of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI-M] against Nandigram villagers since 6 November 2007. According to the official government account, at least 3 persons […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from reliable sources regarding a list of extrajudicial killings of 53 persons solely for the single month of October 2007 in Sri Lanka. Even though several cases of extrajudicial killings and disappearances have been continuously reported since last year, none of those responsible have […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the death of a man and the injury of his son due to an accident that occurred on 7 September 2007 in Sri Lanka. It is reported that the police officer collided with the victim’s motorbike, whilst the officer was driving under the […]

Dear friends, In addition to what has been widely reported, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the plight of justices, lawyers and activists who had been unlawfully placed under house arrest and detained following the state of emergency in 3 November 2007. The justices and lawyers had been targeted to suppress […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed of continuing threats made on human rights activists and widows of activists who are helping victims. On November 2, activist Olivia Bernardo was followed and photographed by an unknown person while her colleague Mary Guy Portajada started receiving threatening messages on her mobile. In […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received reliable information regarding the extrajudicial killing of five youths at Thavasikkulam near Vavuniya town on 4 November 2007 in Sri Lanka.  According to witness accounts, the youths had been taken into custody by Army personnel from the Veppankulam Army Camp. The bullet-riddled corpses were found […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information that on 4 July 2007, a court in Sihanoukville ordered the release of 13 men who were arrested in April 2007 while the Sihanoukville authorities were demolishing houses where 107 families had been staying. Six out of 13 men were released but seven […]

Dear friends, Further to our recent update on court orders that at least 300 men in southern Thailand could not be held at so-called “vocational training” camps against their will (UP-123-2007), the police have since rearrested three and threatened others to go back to the camps if they don’t also want to be taken back […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you that the requests to appeal against imprisonment of the “Hinthada 6” and another human rights defender from the same group have all been thrown out of courts in Burma. Meanwhile, another three have also reportedly been imprisoned, while one who had been was […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is concerned that although over 300 men have been allowed to go free from a number of army camps in the south of Thailand after court orders that they cannot be detained against their will, the army is refusing to let them to return to their homes. […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from reliable sources concerning several cases of extrajudicial killings and threats to media personnel in Sri Lanka since 2004. Few cases have been investigated and to-date not a single person has been brought before the court. The AHRC is concerned by the impunity of […]

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 […]