Judicial system

The dust has barely settled on the Quetta carnage and killing of lawyers that another attack has taken place against the Judiciary. On 2 September 2016, terror once again visited District Court Mardan, Peshawar, KPK Province. The modus operandi was similar: a suicide attacker lobbed a hand grenade before exploding himself at the main gate […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is worried for Ganga Maya Adhikari, an icon of justice, who has resumed her hunger strike on August 11. Ganga Maya has asked Nepal’s Minister for Health, Gagan Thapa, to convey her demands seeking punishment for her son Krishna Prasad Adhikari’s murderers to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’. […]

Commissioners from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the Commission on Investigation of Enforced Disappeared Persons (CIEDP) have been working to fulfil their mandate for some time now. But their work remains hobbled for a number of reasons. Most crucially, the Enforced Disappearances Enquiry, Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act that governs the transitional justice […]

The Migrant Working Group has provided legal representation for the Rohingya, who have become trafficking survivors and have successfully requested to become co-plaintiffs in the case filed by the public prosecutor of Pak Phanang, Nakhon Si Thammarat against Mr. Sunon or KoMit Saengthong, defendant no.1, Mr. Suriya Yodrak, defendant no.2 and Mr. Warachai Chadathong, defendant […]

Avinash Pandey Shri M.L. Khattar, Chief Minister of Haryana, finally announced the constitution of a Special Investigation team (SIT) to probe the armed robbery, double murder, and gang rapes in Dingerheri Village of Mewat that occurred on 25 August 2016. In the incident, armed robbers broke into a house, gang-raped two women of the family, […]

Arsalan Barijo The smallest ethnic and religious community of Pakistan is fighting for the survival of its culture and religious identity, in the face of religious extremism, forced conversion, migration, and climate change. Are we going to allow this rich culture to vanish from the pluralistic land of Pakistan? The Kalash people live primarily in […]

August 8, 2016, will forever remain etched on the collective memory of the nation for years to come. The planned suicide attack on the lawyers, the crème de la crème of our society, shows the vindictive designs of the establishment. The State has aided and abetted non-State actors to silence the voices of dissent against […]

The extraordinary measures taken by the newly appointed President of the Philippines, to allow the killing of persons involved in the drugs trade and notorious criminals, has received global attention. It is one of the most unusual moves made in any country in recent times. While President Rodrigo Duterte has said about 6,000 people may […]

By Ishaq Mohammadi Hazaras draw their racial lineage from Turks and Mughals and are mostly followers of the Shia sect of Islam. Their ancestral land is situated in central Afghanistan named as ‘Hazarajat’. Hazaras living in Pakistan also come from the same race and territory. They migrated to then British India to avoid persecution. They […]

A Panel Discussion 7pm, Wednesday 24 August, 2016 Members: free, Non-members 450 Baht, Thai journalists and Students with VALID ID: 150 Baht On 24 May 2016, Thailand’s Cabinet passed the draft Bill on Prevention and Protection against Torture and Disappearances. Torture and enforced disappearances are now criminalized with higher sentences and improved safeguards for detainees. […]

Nida Paras Societies and cultures are man-made. Cultures play a vital role in national identities and their development. Rich cultures treat men and women More equally than ours with positive impact on the nation. Other cultures are terrible and full of fear with negative impact on the nation. In patriarchal societies, bad cultures are very […]

The Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir has seen curfew for the last 41 days. Sixty-six persons have been killed, as a result of the “actions” of government forces. Most of the channels of communication remain blocked. It is reported that the authorities have gagged the media. There are concerns that even essential supplies are […]

This week Just Asia begins with Thailand, where 25-year-old Jatupat Boonyapatraksa is continuing his hunger strike at Phu Khiao District Prison, Chaiyaphum province to protest against the country’s broken justice system. Jatupat was arrested on August 6 for distributing anti constitution flyers. The Resistant Citizen group have invited ordinary Thai people to write post cards […]

On 7 August 2016, Thailand held a referendum to decide upon the country’s new constitution, as drafted by the military. Preliminary results indicate that 62 percent voted in favour of the constitution, while a majority also agreed that a military nominated Senate should be allowed to select the Prime Minister together with the House of […]

From 11-14 August 2016, 17 explosions took place in seven provinces in Southern Thailand causing a number of deaths and property damages. On 13 August 2016, the Thai authorities responded. They invoked Section 44 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand (Interim), B.E. 2557 (2014). It allows them to hold several suspects in custody, […]

“Woe to those who enact unjust statutes and who write oppressive decrees, depriving the poor of justice, robbing the weakest of my people of their rights.” (Isaiah 10:1) Inspired by the teachings of the Catholic Church pastoral exhortation to build a society more human, more worthy of the human person, the Task Force Detainees of […]

Balochistan Province continues to suffer the wrath of law enforcement agencies; even by official figures, corpses found are threatening to breach the 1,000 mark in recent years. The real numbers are greater, with violent death scarring the countryside and blotting humanity. According to official reports, nearly a thousand bullet-ridden corpses have been recovered from various […]

National Minorities Day is annually commemorated on August 11, in remembrance of the 1947 landmark speech of Pakistan’s founding father, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, envisaging that citizens of all faiths will be treated equally in the new nation: “You are free; you are free to go to your temples; you are free to go to your […]

This week Just Asia begins with the senseless and brutal attack on lawyers in Quetta, Balochistan on August 8. The blast killed 97 persons, including 63 lawyers, and more than 120 persons including women and children were injured. The attack occurred amidst a gathering to pay respects to the assassinated President of the Bar Association. […]

A wave of anxiety has gripped the most populated province of Punjab, following the kidnapping of more than 700 children within this past year.. Several areas in Punjab particularly Lahore, the capital city, has witnessed a sudden surge in child kidnappings. There have been reports of the dead bodies of missing children surfacing in deserted […]