Military

THAILAND: End judicial harassment of human rights defenders

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that the judicial harassment of Pornpen Khongkachonkiet and Somchai Homlaor, long-standing and prominent human rights defenders and director and chairperson, respectively, of the Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF) in Thailand, is ongoing. They have been accused of defaming the army and face potential legal prosecution for […]

PAKISTAN: September 11, 2012 – when workers were forced to be burnt alive

Two years ago on 11th September  2012 a third degree fire broke out at the Ali Enterprises, garment factory in the industrial area of Karachi, where  259 workers perished – burnt alive. It was one of the most devastating tragedies known in the history of the garment industry. The tragedy sparked a debate but on a […]

BURMA/MYANMAR: Twenty-one more farmers falsely convicted for pursuing their land rights

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information that twenty-one more farmers from Kanbalu Township have been convicted regarding an attempt to defend their rights to their land, with sentences ranging from 3 months to 4 years. More farmers are being prosecuted this month and others are still facing trials. CASE […]

INDONESIA: French journalists and indigenous leader at risk of prosecution in Papua

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward an appeal from the Human Rights and Peace for Papua – the International Coalition for Papua (ICP) regarding risks of persecution by the authorities of Indonesia against a French journalist and Papuan indigenous leader in Papua. For more information, please visit: http://humanrightspapua.org/  Thank you.  […]

THAILAND: Intimidation of lawyers and human rights organizations

A Statement from Thai Lawyers for Human Rights forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) The Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) in collaboration with Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF) and Amnesty International Thailand was planning to organize a presentation of report on the situation of human rights “Access to Justice in Thailand: Currently Unavailable […]

THAILAND: Joint statement on the threats to the Wang Saphung community

Protection International and the Asian Human Rights Commission are seriously concerned about the Royal Thai Army’s latest intervention in the conflict between the Wang Saphung community in Loei Province with a neighbouring gold and copper mine.  On Monday, 25 August, the Wang Saphung community organization, the Khon Rak Ban Kerd Group (KBRK), invited community members […]

SOUTH KOREA: Military camps or government run torture centres?

Out of several recent incidents concerning conscripted men, two have sparked public outrage and triggered a call for an overhaul of the conscription system in South Korea. The first case concerns Mr. Lim, a young conscript, who turned his gun on his fellow conscripts and opened fire on 21 June 2014. As a result, five […]

THAILAND: Arbitrary detention and threats to human rights defenders and their families

Working Group on Arbitrary Detention Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Palais des Nations CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland Dear Special Rapporteurs and Working Group Members, You will be aware of the significant threats to human rights which have followed the 22 […]

PAKISTAN: Government refuses to allow the filing of a FIR against Prime Minister and the Chief Minister of Punjab

Courtesy to Daily Dawn The government, once again has refused to follow the orders of the Lahore High Court which directed police to register a First Information Report (FIR) which names amongst others, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the Chief Minister of Punjab Mr. Shahbaz Sharif and 19 others including federal and provincial ministers and government […]

THAILAND: Judicial harassment of human rights defender

Statement on the Judicial Harassment of Leading Human Rights Defender, Ms. Pornpen Khongkachonkiet We, the undersigned civil society groups, are gravely concerned about the criminal legal action taken for defamation and libel against the Cross Cultural Foundation, headed by Ms. Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, by the Army’s Task Force 41. Ms. Pornpen, Director of the Cross Cultural […]

THAILAND: Human rights defender subjected to judicial harassment

On 24 August 2014, Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, a long-time human rights defender and director of the Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF), received a warrant summoning her to report to the Yala police station by 25 August 2014. She has postponed her reporting to the Yala police station until later in September. The warrant was in relation to […]

BURMA: UNODC agreement on the rule of law, a step in the right direction

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has announced its agreement with the Burmese government to collaborate on strengthening the rule of law and addressing significant drug and crime threats. The agreement, the result of over a year of negotiations, will cover a period of three years (2014 – 2017). It has been […]

BURMA: Military demands farmers destroy their own homes

Farmers from Ngetpyawtine village tract, Kanbalu Township, Sagaing Division, have been instructed by the Township Administrative Office to remove the houses they have built on their own farmland. The administration and the No. 2 Shwe Bo Logistic Battalion have warned the farmers that if they do not dismantle the houses and leave the land, they […]

THAILAND: Death threat made against human rights defender in Loei

Death threats still stand and are repeated against the Wang Saphung community We, the undersigned 18 organisations, are deeply concerned about the Wang Saphung community’s situation. The death threats against 10 community members are still standing. More worryingly, we have been told by community leader MrsVironRujichaiwat – mother of a one-month old baby – that […]

THAILAND: Additional freedom of expression arrest and denial of bail by junta

The Asian Human Rights Commission is gravely concerned to have learned that another activist, Pornthip (last name withheld), age 25, who graduated from the Faculty of Political Science at Ramkhamhaeng University, has been arrested in relation to a complaint under Article 112 of the Criminal Code in Thailand. This is the second arrest of someone […]

INDIA: BSF officer molests a woman & tortures her husband

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from MASUM – a human rights organisation based in West Bengal, India – concerning the torture of a man that dared to complain against a Border Security Force (BSF) officer. The man complained that the BSF officer had been found peeping into a room […]

THAILAND: Criminalization of freedom of expression of student activist and human rights defender by junta

The Asian Human Rights Commission is gravely concerned to have learned that Patiwat (last name withheld), a fifth-year student in the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts at Khon Kaen University and a human rights defender, is facing a criminal investigation in relation to a complaint under Article 112 of the Criminal Code in Thailand. […]

SOUTH KOREA: Clandestine war for national memory

National history is written from a certain perspective. And, it can be rewritten later from other perspectives. However, it should not be forgotten that the purpose of having a national history, which itself underlines certain aspects of national memory, is so that accumulated wisdom from the past can circulate in society. Future generations can utilize […]

BURMA/MYANMAR: Police fire on farmers protesting land grabbing

Police in the Mandalay region of Burma shot farmers who were protesting their land having been grabbed by the military. The protest, which took place this morning (14th August 2014) involved the farmers ploughing the fields that had been taken from them. The farmers are from Nyaung Wine Village, Singu Township, Mandalay Region. Over 6,000 […]

BURMA/MYANMAR: Police threaten relatives of deceased torture victim

Members of the Insein Criminal Investigation Department (CID) have been threatening relatives of Ko Zin Aung, a local rickshaw driver tortured to death in July this year (AHRC-UAC-110-2014). Ko Moss and Ma Aye Aye Nwe, the brother-in-law and the cousin of the victim respectively, were called, 11th August 2014 to Myo Thit Quarter Administrative Office, […]