Judicial system

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) strongly condemns the Nepal Police who arrested Dr. C. K. Raut and more than two hundred supporters of his campaign. They came from different districts of Nepal’s Terai. Excessive force was used. Illegal arrests were made. By contrast, Dr. Raut and his supporters were commemorating 25 November (Mangsir 10, […]

Mr. Khurrum Parvez is a human rights defender, the chairperson of Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances, working in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. On 14 September 2016, the immigration officers stationed at the international airport in New Delhi, prevented Parvez from leaving the country. Khurrum had arrived at the airport to travel to Geneva […]

This week Just Asia begins with Burma, where satellite evidence shows mass destruction in Rakhine state, home to the persecuted Muslim Rohingya minority. The latest images from Human Rights Watch indicate that some 820 structures were burnt in five villages between November 10-18. The rights watchdog is calling for an urgent UN investigation into the […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission has received a detailed complaint from Mrs. Herath Mudiyanselage Podi Kumarihami of Poojanagaraya, Mahiyangana, in the Badulla District. Her complaint reveals that the Magistrate of the Mahinganaya Magistrate’s Court, Ms. Thisani Thenabadu has taken several actions against. The Petitioner alleges that the said Magistrate has been harassing her and violating […]

Paris-Geneva-Hong-Kong, November 24, 2016 – After 1,322 days in arbitrary detention, journalist Mr. Mahmudur Rahman has been finally released on bail this afternoon. The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (FIDH-OMCT) and the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) welcome his long-overdue release, and urge authorities to drop all pending charges against him. Acting […]

The Police, Prosecution, Judiciary, and Jails are designed to protect perpetrators of crime that are associated with the powerful elites in the country. This is how the system was devised over 200 years ago, and all who are associated with the institutions have only further twisted this system against the common people since. The lifespan […]

A Joint Statement Calling for the Release of Maria Chin Abdullah, Chairperson of BERSIH2.0 We, the May18 Memorial Foundation and the Laureates of the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights, are deeply alarmed by the detention of Maria Chin Abdullah, the Chairperson of BERSIH2.0 by the Malaysian Police. BESIH2.0 is the 2016’s Laureates of the Gwangju […]

This week Just Asia begins with Pakistan, where terrorist attacks continue despite the Pakistan army’s various anti-terror operations. In the latest attack, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the crowded courtyard of Sufi Saint Shah Noorani’s shrine on November 12, killing some 60 persons and injuring 156. The Shah Noorani shrine in Balochistan’s Hub […]

Amir Murtaza Violence has always been an integral part of human history, in all parts of the world. It is roughly estimated that each year more than a million people lose their lives, and many more suffer non-fatal injuries, as a result of self-inflicted, interpersonal or collective violence. The World Health Organization defines violence as, […]

The weekly Times column, Focus on Rights, titled ‘More (Legal) Horrors of Sri Lanka’s Counter-Terror Draft’ by Kishali Pinto Jayawardena, in the Sunday Times, Sri Lanka, on 06 November 2016, forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Kishali Pinto Jayawardena The Government’s proposed draft on a new counter-terror law for Sri Lanka is rather like a thoroughly unpleasant […]

(Released on 5 November 2016) parents of Mr. Anan Kerdkaew, a suspect who died in police custody while being interrogated, shall file a charge against the Royal Thai Police with the South Bangkok Civil Court about the injuries and death of Mr. Anan Kerdkaew. Mr. Anan was arrested on 9 November 2015 being suspected of […]

Bangladesh’s Government and its law-enforcement agencies have earned a reputation for refusing to take responsibility for the crimes they commit institutionally or that agency personnel commit in their individual capacity. The Bangladesh Government and its law-enforcement agencies have been shamelessly denying their involvement in enforced disappearances despite over 300 people having been disappeared by Bangladesh […]

Beginning with Thailand this week, the Provincial Court of Songkhla read the verdict of Appeals Court Region 9 regarding the case of Mr. Anat Hayeemasae, former member of the Satun Provincial Administration Organization (PAO). He had appealed the order of the Court of First Instance, which had sentenced him to 22-years-and-six-months-imprisonment for an offence against […]

Sadly, in an atrocious system where innocents spend decades behind bars awaiting justice to be served on them, instead death penalties are handed down as state sanctioned murder. The lack of justice sector reforms coupled with near-collapsed institutions of criminal justice has yet again caused a grotesque miscarriage of justice. In a shocking revelation on year after […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about Rev. Fr. Nandana Manatunga, parish priest of St. Mary’s Church in Wattegama, Kandy District. Also well known as a human rights defender, Father is being harassed by the police including the OIC of Wattegama Police Station. Following a land dispute with the owner […]

Ever since the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) established the Ad Hoc investigation team for the Paniai case, under the decision 1 March 2016 letter of the Chair of the Komnas HAM (Number 009 / Komnas HAM / III / 2016), there is no progress in this case (see case details at AHRC-UAC-089-2015 and a […]

This week Just Asia begins with Nepal, where 22 Madhesi activists were arrested on October 23 while participating in a Leadership Development workshop. Affiliated with Dr. C.K. Raut and his campaign, the activists from Nawalparasi District were meeting at a local hotel. A group of around 40 police officers abruptly closed the workshop, hit the […]

An oped from the Kathmandu Post forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Unlike Kathmandu, the situation in other districts of Nepal, surprisingly, looks quite different from the conflict victims’ perspective. For example, intimidation by the security forces continues in the district of Kapilbastu. Surveillance in the vicinity of the homes and workplaces of the […]

Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has recently rebuked her political counterpart and former Premier Khaleda Zia that the latter “lacks courage” and “just can’t face the court”. In a meeting at her official residence, on 12 October 2016, Hasina said that her government is being blamed for pursuing false cases. She asked, “Which case filed […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission wishes to inform you about the publication of a paper analysing the Indonesian Universal Periodic Review (UPR) first cycle session in 2008 and second cycle session in 2012. This paper is published to prepare for the third cycle of the Indonesian UPR in 2017. It will help to asses and monitor the extent of progress of […]