Military

(Hong Kong, June 3, 2014) The Asian Human Rights Commission on Tuesday launched a new webpage in response to the military coup in Thailand of May 22. The webpage contains links to the Hong Kong-based regional human rights organisation’s commentary and appeals concerning the coup, in English and Thai, as well documents related to the […]

The following article was published as the editorial of the latest issue of Torture: Asian and Global Perspectives by Nilantha Ilangamuwa Sri Lanka is once again on the edge of a political crucible in terms of its international relations as well as in its domestic politics. The country is ignoring calls for an independent and credible investigation […]

Two days after the announcement that martial law had been put in force was made on May 20th, a military junta, named the National Order Maintenance Council (NOMC), led a coup and subsequently installed itself as the government of Thailand. Over the course of the six months of anti-government protests, twenty-eight people had been killed […]

At approximately 9 pm on 1 June 2014, the National Council on Peace and Order Maintenance Council (NPCO) issued Orders No. 42-44/2014 broadcast on the radio and television demanding that 38 persons report themselves to the Jamjuree Room at the Army Club on Thewet Road between 10 am and noon on 1 June 2014. Similar […]

Leader of National Peace and Order Council Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha Royal Thai Army Headquarters Rachadamnoen Nok Road, Bangkok 10200, Thailand Fax:  (+66-2) 226 1838 E-mail: prforeign@gmail.com Dear General We, the members of civil society and human rights defenders of Nepal, express our deep concern over the takeover the administration of the country by the military junta, […]

Since the May 22, 2014 coup, the ruling military junta of the National Peace and Order Maintenance Council (NPOMC) has begun a process of mass arrests of those who oppose them. This has included the arrest of peaceful demonstrators in Bangkok on May 23, 2014 (AHRC-STM-099-2014) and in Chiang Mai and Bangkok on May 24, […]

At approximately 10 am on May 24, 2014, the National Peace and Order Maintenance Council (NPOMC, formerly NOMC) issued Order No. 5/2014 broadcast on the radio and television demanding that 35 persons report themselves to the Army auditorium at Thewet Road by 4 pm on May 24, 2014. At 9 pm on May, the NPOMC […]

At 3am on May 20, 2014, General Prayuth Chan-ocha, the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army, announced that martial law was immediately in force. After two days of uncertainty, in which martial law co-existed with the constitution and the caretaker government remained nominally in power, General Prayuth led a coup at approximately 5 pm on […]

At 3am on 20 May 2014, General Prayuth Chan-ocha, the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army, announced that martial law was immediately in force. After over six months of increasing political contention during which the military remained largely silent, they have spoken through this action. Whether or not this constitutes, or will lead to, a […]

Two Indian journalists have been ordered to leave country no later than May 20 without being given any reason for the non-renewal of their visas. It is claimed in certain government circles that the decision was made by the military establishment. The Daily News International, quoting some close aides of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, said […]

Human rights defenders are continually being made targets of abduction in Bangladesh, actions that are symptomatic of a kind of insanity. Yesterday (May 15,2014 ), Mr. Md. Nur Khan (Liton), a prominent human rights defender narrowly escaped being abducted. A group of men in plain clothes attempted to abduct Mr. Nur, who works as Director […]

The attempted murder of an anchorperson of a popular media house triggered the open discussion on the role of the ISI in dealing with the freedom of expression and the media as a whole. Indeed, this is not the first occasion that the role of the ISI was brought up as a conspirator in the […]

The frenzy of land grabbing in Burma (Myanmar) amid the country’s transition to nominally democratic government shows no signs of abating. Reports of the number of cases and scale of “land confiscation”—a euphemism for theft by government authorities and army-linked cronies—continue to grow. At the same time, conflicts over land have escalated as farmers attempt […]

The rule of law does not exist in Bangladesh. The way the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) abducted seven men, including a senior lawyer and a member of the mayoral panel of the Narayanganj City Corporation (NCC), on 27 April 2014, and murdered them, allegedly on behalf of a feuding faction of the ruling party, in […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is concerned about the case of journalists and responsible persons from a news journal in Burma prosecuted under the Burma Official Secrets Act 1923 over an article about a military-owned factory. They have been accused of leaking state secrets and have been detained during the inquiry period, […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the disappearance of a student leader from Balochistan province. He has been missing after his arrest from the meeting of the executive committee of his organisation by the notorious intelligence agency of Pakistan, the ISI. The personnel from the Frontier Corps (FC) of […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information that no action has been taken against three soldiers who murdered a civilian and terrorized a young couple because the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) is protecting them from prosecution. A military tribunal conducted hearings that absolved the men from responsibility for […]

Adilur Rahman Khan, Human Rights Defender of Bangladesh; AHRC File Photo Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan, a renowned human rights defender, who has been relentlessly persecuted by the incumbent regime in Bangladesh, has been recognized for his courage by the global human rights community. Adilur has been awarded the 2014 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights, which he […]

• Labeling of lawyers by military continues • Practice of labeling root cause of extrajudicial killings • Pattern of ongoing threats against legal profession Philippines, 23 April 2014 – Lawyers for Lawyers (L4L) and Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (LRWC) warn in an open letter to President Aquino of the Philippines for the continued labeling of lawyers […]

Recently, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) published its report ranking the country as 3rd “most deadly for journalists,” next to Iraq and Somalia. In another report, the Global Witness ranked the country as the 3rd “most dangerous” for environment and land defenders worldwide, next to Brazil and Honduras, where indigenous people struggle for control of their lands. The […]