Judicial system

A Press Release from Human Rights Commission of Pakistan forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) Lahore, May 13: The barbaric killing of members of the Ismaili community in a bus attack in Karachi is highly condemnable, but it deserves more than mere words of censure and sympathy from the authorities, the political parties […]

Today, persons hailing from the Ismaili community (a branch of Shia Islam) have been attacked while they were travelling on a passenger bus managed and operated by the community. According to media reports, six unidentified assailants on motorbikes opened fire on the bus from all sides, leaving at least 46 dead and 24 injured. Many […]

On 8 May 2015 the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission issued a short statement (No. 5/2015) to the effect that two soldiers accused of involvement in the killing of freelance journalist Ko Par Gyi on 4 October 2014 have been acquitted of any crime by a summary court martial. The statement explained that the men, […]

by Basil Fernando A young man, then 18 years old, filed a communication on 28th January 2003, about an incident that took place on 18th April 2002. The UNHRC came to a finding on 14th July 2006. The UNHRC found that the Sri Lankan Government has violated the rights of the man by its failure to adjudicate […]

by Avinash Pandey  Gajendra Singh, a farmer from Rajasthan hung himself from a tree in the middle of a political rally against the Union government’s indifference to the plight of peasants. His suicide, recorded and broadcast live, has brought the horrors that plague the countryside straight into the discomfort of the homes of everyone with […]

The 2006 amendment to the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, clearly states that truth is a valid defence against contempt of court proceedings in India. This Act, number 6 of 2006 of the Indian Parliament, amends Section 13 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, incorporating Sub-section (b) to Section 13. Sub-section 13 (b) reads: […]

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan launched its annual report “State of Human Rights in 2014″ Parliament made 10 laws, less than half the previous year’s 22. Nine presidential ordinances were promulgated. Some important laws passed by the parliament were designed to address security concerns, working of the judicial system, and issues related to terrorism, including the controversial […]

by Tapan Bose*  Justice Dattu’s argument that the meeting was being held to save precious working days and meant no disrespect to the sentiments of India’s Christian minority has not gone down well among the Christians who have been facing violence from the forces of Hindutva. All across the country, churches have been attacked, vandalized, […]

The former Chief Whip of the ruling coalition in Kerala, Mr. P. C. George, has released a letter to the media, which he has sent to the Chief Minister of the State, Mr. Oomen Chandy. In the letter, among other accusations, George alleges that the Finance Minister of the State, Mr. K. M. Mani, had […]

බැසිල් ප්‍රනාන්දු විසිනි කටුගස්තොට, අඹතැන්න ප්‍රදේශයේ අට හැවිරිදි දරුවාගේ (ඇතැම් මාධ්‍ය ආයතනවලට අනුව දස හැවිරිදි දරුවෙකි) කතාව පසුගිය සතියේ ප්‍රවෘත්ති වාර්තා කිහිපයකින්ම හෙළිදරව් විය. සිය නැතිවූ දරුවා සම්බන්ධයෙන් දරුවාගේ මව කටුගස්තොට පොලිසියට සිය මූලික පැමිණිල්ල සිදුකළාය. මූලික වශයෙන්, පොලිසිය පැමිණිල්ල නොතකා හැරි අතර දරුවා සෙවීමේ කටයුතු ආරම්භ කිරීම සඳහා කිසිවක් නොකළේය. පොලිසිය මැදිහත් වූයේ කාන්තාවක් […]

More than 60 convicts have been hung in Pakistan since December 2014. This number is now set to rise, with the military playing its role in executing people. The military junta that has surreptitiously imposed itself upon the pillars of the state, has handed down the death penalty to six convicts over charges of terrorism […]

An article from the The Sunday Times, written by Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission by Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena Even close to one and a half decades later, it is heartening to see the virulent politicization of the Sri Lankan Supreme Court from the year 2000 amidst the bypassing of honourable judges of […]

The Prime Minster of India, Mr. Narendra Modi, invited the top judges of the country and the Chief Ministers of the states to his official residence for a dinner. The judges accepted the invitation and dined with the Prime Minister. This is the first time in Indian history that a Prime Minister has resorted to […]

One of the promises of Mr. Maithripala Sirisena, as common candidate at the last presidential election, was the elimination of corruption, i.e. something the last government was steeped in. Elimination of corruption is therefore a major objective of his newly elected government. His catchwords were Yaha palanaya (good governance), which itself implies radical elimination of corruption. Today, […]

In this week’s Roundup, AHRC TV covers stories from Burma, the Philippines, and Pakistan. Police and mob violence against peaceful demonstrators in Burma has sown doubt about the democratisation process in the country. AHRC TV talks to several people on the ground about recent crackdowns in Rangoon and Letpadan and whether police are continuing to […]

Students and their supporters detained in Tharawaddy Prison continue to be denied access to lawyers. In addition, the authorities have refused medical assistance for the detainees that are injured. Thus, the government continues its persecution of the Burmese students who have taken a stand against the government’s plan with respect to education. The background to […]

Enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions are on the rise amidst the political crisis in Bangladesh. At least nine people including two women have been disappeared, and seven men extrajudicially murdered between 5 January and 27 January 2015. Personnel from the Detective Branch (DB) of Police, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), and the Joint Forces (which […]

On 21 January, the Senate Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics has unanimously adopted a draft anti-torture bill. PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar moved The Torture, Custodial Death and Custodial Rape Bill, 2014, last August and the Chairman Senate referred it to the Committee. The objective of this Bill is to prevent and protect all persons from […]

For more information or inquiries, please contact Ms. Eun-ji KANG by email (khis21[at]hanmail.net) from Korean House for International Solidarity. – Chairperson Hyun Byung-cheol should reflect on himself whether he is qualified as the head of a NHRI of A status In the Plenary Committee meeting on 12 January 2015, Hyun Byung-cheol, chairperson of the National […]

India is celebrating its 66th Republic Day today. The national capital territory is under a layered security blanket, to ensure the celebrations will not be marred by any inconvenient incident, and that the foreign as well as national dignitaries will return home safe. Some amongst the millions of Indians watching today’s celebrations may wonder why such […]