Judicial system

( Hong Kong, October 23, 2014) 20th October 2014, The Human Rights Commission of the Lawyer Council of Thailand set up a working group to provide legal aid to Win or Win Saw Thun and Zaw Lin, the two Burmese suspects in the murder of David Miller, 24 and the rape and murder of Hannah Witheridge, […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information that nine human rights defenders from Gilgit-Baltistan, including the President of the Supreme Appellate Court, Bar Association were charged for sedition for holding a protest in front of the office of United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) at Gilgit. […]

A protest march, organized by the Inter University Students’ Federation, was held yesterday. The students demonstrated to demand the government to: 1)      Increase Mahapola & Bursary payment to Rs. 5,000 2)      Increase Funds for Education 3)      Increase Workers’ Wages 4)      Abolish the Fraud Private Medical College in Malambe 5)      End Privatization 6)      End Tuition fees […]

A Divisional Bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) upheld the death penalty of a Christian woman convicted of Blasphemy by a Sessions’ Court in 2010. Ms. Aasia Bibi, was a mother of five. She was arrested in 2009 under blasphemy charges while working in a farm with many other Muslim women. A two-judge bench […]

Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy law is once again in the headlines. The world’s media is talking about Aasia Bibi’s enraging and sorrowful story. She was accused of blasphemy in 2009 and since 2010 has been on death row. But on October 16th the Lahore High Court rejected her appeal, and her suffering because of the country’s blasphemy […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) strongly condemns the Manila City government for its apparent outright neglect to improve conditions at the Reception and Action Center (RAC), a public child care institutions. The AHRC has obtained a copy of a photo, taken on October 12, showing a naked and severely malnourished boy lying on the […]

แถลงการณ์ ขอ ให้ยุติการกระทำที่ละเมิดสิทธิของครอบครัวผู้ เสียหายและผู้ต้องหา กรณี การปฏิบัติหน้าที่ของเจ้าหน้าที่และสื่อมวลชนใน คดีเกาะเต่า จาก กรณีเมื่อวันที่ 15 กันยายน 2557 เกิด เหตุสองนักท่องเที่ยวชาวอังกฤษถูกทำร้ายและเสีย ชีวิตอยู่ริมชายหาดเกาะเต่า จังหวัดสุราษฎร์ธานี ต่อมาในวันที่ 2 ตุลาคม 2557 เจ้า หน้าที่ตำรวจได้ควบคุมตัวผู้ต้องสงสัยเป็นแรงงาน ชาวพม่าจำนวน 3 ราย โดยจากการสอบสวนเพิ่มเติมของพนักงานสอบสวนทำผู้ ต้องหาให้การรับสารภาพว่ากระทำความผิดตามข้อกล่าว หา และในวันที่ 3 ตุลาคม 2557 เจ้า พนักงานสอบสวนได้นำตัวผู้ต้องหา 2 รายไปแถลงข่าวและทำแผนประกอบคำรับสารภาพในที่เกิดเหตุ ปรากฏตามรายงานข่าวของสื่อมวลชนไปแล้วนั้น เนื่องจากคดีดังกล่าวอยู่ระหว่างชั้นสอบสวน ผู้ต้องหาต้องได้รับการสันนิษฐานไว้ก่อนว่าเป็นผู้ บริสุทธิ์จนกว่าจะมีคำพิพากษาถึงที่สุด ดังนั้นการปฏิบัติต่อผู้ต้องหาจะกระทำเหมือนผู้ กระทำความผิดแล้วไม่ได้ สมาคมนักกฎหมายสิทธิมนุษยชนและองค์กรข้างท้ายมีความห่วงใยว่าการปฏิบัติ หน้าที่ของเจ้าหน้าที่รัฐที่เกี่ยวข้องและ สื่อมวลชนอาจเป็นการละเมิดสิทธิในความเป็นส่วนตัว ของครอบครัวผู้เสียหายและละเมิดสิทธิของผู้ต้องหา ตามหลักการดังต่อไปนี้ 1. การ ให้การในคดีที่มีโทษประหารชีวิต หากผู้ต้องหาไม่มีทนายความ พนักงานสอบสวนมีหน้าที่ตามกฎหมายในการจัดหาทนายความให้ผู้ต้องหาตามมาตรา 134/1 ประมวล กฎหมายวิธีพิจารณาความอาญาและกติกา […]

Public Statement Human Rights Lawyers Association (HRLA) and Union for Civil Liberties (UCL) October15, 2014 Violation of the rights of the victims and alleged offenders must be stopped:The performance of the officials and media in Koh Tao murder case, On 15 September 2014, two tourists from UK were murdered and their bodies were left on […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that 12 human rights defenders including Baba Jan, a prominent human rights defender, have been sentenced to imprisonment for life, by the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC). They have been so sentenced for raising their voice and holding a protest against not providing compensation rightly due […]

This morning, in an attempt to forcibly disperse the crowd outside the Chief Executive’s Office at Lung Wo Road and the adjacent underpass, police exercised excessive force. The most unacceptable incident was recorded by members of the media, in which several police officers took an already restrained protester to a dark corner and kicked and […]

Malala Yousafzai; the epitome of the fight against religious oppression of women The Asian Human Rights Commission takes the greatest pleasure in congratulating Malala Yousafzai on the occasion of being awarded the Nobel Prize for female education.   Malala in her struggles which she began as a child, defied religious extremism of the worst kind in […]

The police raid on the Nehru Place office of Forward Press is a deplorable attack on freedom of expression. The Forward Press, a progressive magazine aimed at marginalised and underprivileged sections of India society, had focussed on Bahujan-Shraman (roughly meaning the majority that lives off its labour and not by exploiting others) traditions. The issue […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is gravely concerned about the ongoing detention without charge of Patiwat (last name withheld) and Pornthip (last name withheld), who are being held in relation to a complaint filed against them for alleged violation of Article 112 of the Criminal Code in Thailand. Patiwat, age 23, a fifth year […]

There is more heartbreak for the family, friends, and supporters of the Adhikari couple.  On September 22, after 333 days of a hunger strike, Nanda Prasad Adhikari has died. His wife, Ganga Maya, remains in critical condition, and many people fear she will be unable to survive for much longer. As a result, sympathy for […]

1. The Hong Kong Bar Association (“HKBA”) is deeply disturbed by, and deplores and condemns, the excessive and disproportionate use of force by the Hong Kong Police on demonstrators gathering at Harcourt Road in the afternoon of28 September 2014. 2. The circumstances in which the Hong Kong Police commenced the use of CS gas on […]

Dear Mr. President, “You must be the change you want to see in the world” The Sri Lankan Lion roared at the 69th Session of the UN General Assembly reminding the global community that “…, in order to gain the confidence and goodwill of the international community as a whole, but one of the essential requirements was consistency of standards across […]

The fifth Congress of Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD), held in Manila from 22-25 September and attended by participants from ten countries – Bangladesh, Indonesia, Jammu and Kashmir in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Thailand and Timor-Leste renewed its commitment to fight against impunity and build a world without disappearances. AFAD […]

Following is a poetic response to ASIA: Wounds in the souls of the members of disappeared people’s families can never be cured, which appeared yesterday (September 26, 2014) by John Joseph Clancey Will there be another tomorrow? Or, just another wife’s sorrow, caused by her husband’s disappearance? Will I hear my new-born baby’s cry? Or, […]

Following the assassination of Dr. RajaniThiranagamaon 21 September 1989 by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a well-attended commemoration and a peaceful march were heldin Jaffna, in which large numbers of students, clergy, activists, both local and international, and ordinary people participated. Twenty-five years ago these events took place despite the very hostile and intimidating […]

Conference Statement September 17-20, 2014, Manila, Philippines– We, the participants in the conference on “Sharing Best Practices in Advocating for Legislation Against Enforced Disappearances” coming from organizations fromArgentina, Bangladesh, Belarus, Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Lebanon, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste and the United States of America are convened in Manila, Philippines, the […]