Judicial system

The president of Burma, or Myanmar, U Thein Sein in his recent visit to the United Kingdom has made a commitment that all political prisoners in his country will be released by the end of the year. According to him, a committee is continuing to review all relevant cases and determine those persons who are […]

The Jihad to convert Hindu girls is continued unabated under the indifferent attitude of Pakistani authorities. In recent months, seven Hindu girls have been targeted in the conversion to Islam campaign. Of the seven, five have been abducted and converted by Muslim goons. One Hindu girl was abducted and forced to convert to Islam, but […]

Press Release – 18th July 2013 It is reliably learnt that the government is in the process of instituting criminal prosecution against the CJ, Shirani Bandaranayake shortly.  The recommencement of the hate campaign against her in the state media is an indication of this intended action. The state media is known to be operating in […]

(Hong Kong, 19 July, 2013) “If one innocent person is killed by [the] police or other security forces in a fake encounter, it creates tremendous upsurge of hatred…people always accurately know who was innocent. People even know whether an innocent person was killed by mistake or deliberately…” said the Commission of Inquiry constituted by the […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received a report issued by a Christian organization, CLAAS (Center for Legal Aid, Assistance & Settlement), negating the stripping and parading of Christian women in what appears to be an attempt to exonerate those that violated the rights of  the women. Throughout the report, the organizations that joined […]

During the last few weeks the Sandakada pahanas (Moonstones) in a couple of churches in Kalutara District came under attack from Bodu Bala Sena, a Buddhist militant organisation led by Buddhist monks. They claimed that Sandakada pahana (Moonstone) is a Buddhist symbol found at the entrance to Buddhist temples, and therefore should not adorn the […]

Pakistan Conflict Tracker Monthly Report (June 2013). By Mohammad Nafees   The month of June dawned with lots of hopes and expectations for the people of Pakistan as the new government was to take oath during this month and to offer peace, good governance, and rule of law in the country.  The hope of peace […]

15 July, 2013 Colombo We the undersigned, who stand for justice and democracy,  note with regret and concern the use of State media, especially the Independent Television Network (ITN) that uses its air time to stick labels on and intimidate social and cultural activists who stand for plurality and fair play and for their dissenting […]

Every ninety minutes a woman is raped in Sri Lanka, said Women for Rights at a press conference held in Colombo on July 14. The organisation further said that Sri Lanka is 5thon a list regarding domestic violence. Crimes causing violence relating to women and children is on the rise. In Sri Lanka the citizens […]

The judgment of the Supreme Court of India delivered on 10 July 2013 in Civil Writ Petitions 490 and 231 of 2005, declaring Subsection (4) of Section 8 of the Representation of People’s Act, 1951 as ultra vires the constitution, is a watershed event. The Court on the same day dismissed two other Civil Appeals, […]

The persecution of the Ahmadis, a minority sect, by police and fundamentalist Muslim groups is continuing unabated. In the month of June, two persons from the Ahmadiyya sect were gunned downed by ‘unknown killers’ in Karachi and Lahore. Another Ahmadi was shot and seriously injured. In the city of Sialkot, Punjab province, the Ahmadis were […]

The AHRC staff joins the international community in the celebration of Malala Day and sends sincere greetings to Malala for her 16th birthday “Even if they come to kill me, I will tell them what they are trying to do is wrong, that education is our basic right.” These words are from the well-known, young […]

Two years after the Arab Spring held the world captive, Egypt again finds itself immersed in turmoil as Egyptians took to the streets on June 30th in a movement to remove Islamist Brotherhood leader Dr. Mohamed Morsi (Morsy according to some sources) from his post as president of the country. The movement was backed by […]

Arifa, a mother of two, has been stoned to death on the orders of Panchayat (a tribal court) for possessing a cell phone. She was executed on 11 July in the district of Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab province. The victim was stoned to death by her uncle and relatives on the orders of Panchayat […]

Sachin Kumar Jain Perhaps, I may not arrive at any conclusions in this feature article. I am in a dilemma over the veracity of the data available on the state agriculture. Perhaps you could help me in this effort. Chances are you could be befuddled as me on the matter! In 2012 Madhya Pradesh government […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission asks you to consider joining the campaign for a peace declaration initiated by a number of non-governmental organisations in South Korea. All are welcome to join to sign the peace declaration as a global citizen and the declaration is scheduled to be released on July 27, 2013. Please visit the […]

On Thursday, July 11, 2013, the verdict in the case of three human rights defenders —  JittraKotchadej, BoonrodPaiwong, and SoonthornBoonyord — will be read at the Criminal Court on Ratchadaphisek Road in Bangkok. The charges against the human rights defenders stems from peaceful protests they held calling on the government to take action to protect […]

(Phnom Penh, 10 July 2013) On 3 July 2013, a group of civil society organizations (“CSOs”) jointly organized a national political platform debate on “Special Measures to Solve Women’s and Children’s Issues” (the “Debate”).  CSOs were pleased to welcome to the Debate representatives from seven of the eight political parties who are contesting the National […]

“The significance of the protest was no longer defined by the number of people who take part, but by the issues it reflects,” said Hong Kong Secretary for Transport and Housing Anthony Cheung Bing-Leung in a radio interview on the July 1 protests in Hong Kong, a pro-democracy icon in the region. It has been an interesting time […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a young businessman named Shamim Reza was tortured to death by police officers of Sonargaon police station in Narayanganj distirct. The police, on 14 May 2013, illegally arrested Shamim without any warrant of arrest issued by Court. In violation of Bangladesh’s constitutional provision, […]