Judicial system

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information on the missing person’s case of Chhori Maiya Maharjan. The Kathmandu District Court again postponed the final hearing of Chhori Maiya. Chhori Maiya went missing on February 28 2012 after she left her Jaisideval-based house to meet Surakshya Singh alias Nikki at Baneshwor, […]

In an exclusive interview with Nilantha Ilangamuwa, the editor of Torture – Asian and Global Perspectives, Ms. Fatou Bensouda, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), said, “We apply the law without distinction, fear or favour. We follow the mandate that has been given to us under the Rome Statute. Regrettably, often the lack of full […]

Letter from Prashant Rahi on Imprisonment and Toruture, and Appeal for Campaign Against UAPA – See more at: http://sanhati.com/articles/9031/#sthash.1yVgsvrX.dpuf, January 29, 2014 Dated : January 07, 2014 Dear friends, Heart-felt greetings at the onset of yet another tumultuous years of struggle for civil and democratic rights, which are increasingly threatened the world over by police atrocities […]

The Standing Committee on Rule of Law of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, condemns the action that is being taken by the Urban Development Authority to illegally evict families residing at Wanathamulla, Borella without resort to the law on acquisition of private property.  What is of deep concern is the use of army personal […]

Press Statement January 29, 2013 Reference: Cristina “Tinay” Palabay, Secretary General, 0917-3162831 – Angge Santos, Media Liaison, 0918-9790580 CA decision strengthens anti-torture charges against military/police torturers of security guard Panesa http://www.karapatan.org/CA+decision+strengthens+anti-torture+charges+against+military/police+torturers+of+security+guard+Panesa “The recent resolution of the Court of Appeals denying the motion for the re-arrest of security guard Rolly Panesa strengthens the anti-torture case he […]

The discovery of a ‘torture wheel’ “inside a private subdivision in Laguna,” which is under the control of intelligence officers in Biñan, Laguna, where detainees arrested for illegal drugs are tortured and held, drew outrage as to how the police conduct its investigation into crimes. The “torture wheel” was discovered by the Commission on Human Rights […]

In his remarkable writings, Orwell reminded us as to how the Ministry of War was represented as the Ministry of Peace. Such coinage of words to mean the opposite of reality is part of the mischief in introducing repression in place of freedom. We have occasion to remember Orwell’s words of warning when reading about […]

The Friday Forum 2, Greenlands Avenue, Colombo 5, Sri Lanka E-Mail; chandraj111@gmail.com Telephone; 0773634444   Fax; 2504181 PRESS RELEASE 27th January 2014. There has been, in recent times, public discussion in regard to whether our country is moving towards an authoritarianism that undermines democratic governance. The President, Ministers and government spokespersons have consistently denied this allegation. They refer in particular to the […]

27 January 2014 – Transparency International (TI) chapters from nine cricket-playing countries, including Australia, India and United Kingdom, express serious concern at proposed reform of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and call on the ICC to publish a formal response to the Woolf Report and meanwhile halt any other significant governance reforms. A joint statement […]

For Freedom, Justice and Love – My Closing Statement to the Court Xu Zhiyong, 22 January 2014 This is Xu Zhiyong’s closing statement on January 22, 2014, at the end of his trial. According to his lawyer, he had only been able to read “about 10 minutes of it before the presiding judge stopped him, […]

The AHRC releases today the 15th Episode, of the Human Rights Asia Weekly Roundupwith special reports from Cambodia. In this week’s programme we bring you the following stories from across Asia; In Cambodia four persons were killed and many others wounded after police opened fire at protestors demanding an increase of the minimum wage. The AHRC […]

A report by Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) The month of December saw a moderate reduction in the number of casualties related to militant, sectarian and politically-motivated violence plaguing Pakistan. The overall death toll was at around 275 while up to 325 people were wounded in these hostilities bringing the total number of […]

Maya Sarki was beaten, smeared with black soot, and garlanded with used shoes and slippers before being paraded in the village on 21 July 2013. She had to go through this ordeal merely for mistakenly blaming a man for an attempt to rape her. Maya apologized to Jivan Bhetwal, a local non-Dalit man for mistakenly […]

The UN and international human rights organisations must send fact finding missions to probe the illegal disposal of Baloch people in mass graves The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) expresses shock and deep concern over the discovery of mass graves in Balochistan; it is suspected that these graves are of Baloch missing persons who were […]

Hello Uncle, I am Parvati. I am from Majha village from Panna block of Panna district. The moment I said Panna, your mind must have registered the emerald mines that the place is famous for. I can perceive the same glee in your eyes as I had seen in the eyes of some of the […]

Introduction The term sovereignty is frequently confronted with hostile claims. Human Right and Anti Corruption Movements are often challenged by various groups with different notions and ideologies on sovereignty.  The purpose of this brief article is to examine some of  the legal issues with reference to the concept of sovereignty in a global political context, […]

The incumbent President of the Court of Appeal, Justice S. Sriskandarajah, has passed away after a brief illness. He was appointed to appointed President of the Court of Appeal in 2011 after serving as a judge of the High Court and then as a judge of the Court of Appeal. He delivered a large number […]

The parents of Shiva Shankar Das (21) who was allegedly poisoned to death are still waiting for justice and compensation after two years. Shiva Shankar had a love affair with a 20-year old woman from a so-called ‘upper caste’ community and was allegedly poisoned by the girl’s relatives on January 30, 2012. The Jagaran Media […]

As Edward Snowden has continued to slowly release more information about the widespread intelligence gathering techniques of the National Security Agency (NSA), there have been more calls for him to be granted an amnesty and further calls for placing limits on intelligence gathering by the NSA and other intelligence agencies. Der Spiegel has reported that […]

The rape of a foreigner in the national capital, New Delhi, has placed India in disrepute, internationally. This incident comes just a year after a similar one shook the nation. The rape of a physiotherapy student had resulted in a nation-wide mass protest, provoked by the state’s incapacity to make the capital a safe place […]