Police negligence

INDIA: Arbitrary detention and torture of a prominent social worker in Manipur

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Human Rights Alert, a human rights organization based in Manipur regarding the arbitrary detention of Mr. Khumukcham Chingkhei Luwang, a prominent social worker and Vice President of International Peace and Social Advancement, from Imphal West District, Manipur. His whereabouts have been changed since […]

INDIA: Is the judiciary a panacea?

Statement | India | 01-04-2014

Litigants have approached the Supreme Court of India with manifold requests, solemn and bizarre, that ranges from seeking the court’s intervention to guarantee basic rights for the prisoners to asking the government of India to declare parts of Pakistan as India. These litigations are filed seeking the court to invoke its authority under article 32 […]

NEPAL: Killing its citizens in the name of justice

Statement | Nepal | 27-03-2014

A girl recently killed herself in Kathmandu after the police dilly-dallied in helping her to find justice. The girl had been raped by her father’s business partner. Instead of acting quickly, the police delayed registering a case. Registration was done only after some pressure. The girl became psychologically fragile, but there was no one to […]

SRI LANKA: Authorities fail to investigate death threats and intimidation of a journalist

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. Wiki Wikramarathna, a freelance journalist, videographer and blogger is under threat of death. Mr. Wikramarathna learned about a Singhala New Year Festival being organised by the Civil Security Committee of the Udyana Ward, Dehivala. This committee comes under the Ministry of Defense […]

BURMA/MYANMAR: No rule of law via Special Branch, militarised police

On 11 March 2014 a presidential commission of inquiry into the latest violence in the far west of Burma, or Myanmar, presented its findings. According to the commission, which is the latest in a series examining violence around the country, numbers of security forces in some areas need to be significantly increased. Highlighting Maungdaw Township, […]

INDIA: Law is no exception to god-men or god-women

Statement | India | 26-02-2014

In India, another controversy has erupted concerning yet another spiritual guru. The exception however is, this time, it is a god-woman from the southern state of Kerala. Otherwise, the script is an oft-repeated one. The emergence of a person claiming spiritual and god given powers from a remote hamlet in the country to national and […]

INDONESIA: Police defy court order to pay compensation to shooting victim

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Indonesian Human Rights and Legal Aid Association (Perhimpunan Bantuan Hukum Indonesia, PBHI) in West Sumatra regarding the neglected judgments of the civil courts in the case of Iwan Mulyadi. Iwan, a 28-year-old residing in West Pasaman Barat of West Sumatera, is a victim of a […]

INDIA: Most police officers are unfit to serve is now an official position

Statement | India | 24-02-2014

The report by the Director General of Police (DGP), Mr. K. S. Balasubramanian, in the southern state of Kerala to the government, that most of the police officers of the rank of Sub-Inspector of Police are corrupt, inept to discharge their duties and are clinically lazy, speaks volumes about the capacity of the state’s police […]

INDIA: A mandamus writ will not ensure safety

Statement | India | 20-02-2014

The Supreme Court of India has directed the Union Government to take adequate measures to guarantee the safety of the people from the northeast, in the rest of the country against alleged racial discrimination. The court issued the directive while hearing a public interest litigation filed in court, following a series of incidents, where people […]

PHILIPPINES: Torture victims speak out – “They tortured me, used me to get reward” Video interview 14

(Hong Kong, February 6, 2014) On January 14, the Court of Appeals (CA), Fifth Division, has concluded that Rolly Panesa, a 48-year-old security guard, could not possibly be Benjamin Mendoza, a leader of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), rejecting the claim of the police and soldiers as justification for his arrest. In its press release, […]

NEPAL: State remains unresponsive to the missing person Chhori Maiya Maharjan, and her family wants to know where she is

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, […]

ASIA: Conversations with a chameleon (katussa) – some thoughts for 2014

Article | Asia | 31-12-2013

As I wanted to discuss many things, and as I found no one else to discuss these things with, I was happy to see you on a branch of a tree in our garden. I told myself, “Ah, here is someone I can talk to.” As I approached and greeted you, you nodded to me […]

SRI LANKA: An advertisement for a newly released book on the police and rights

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward to you the following flyer on the occasion of releasing a new book on the police and rights authored by Frank de Silva, a former Inspector General of Police in Sri Lanka. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- FORWARDED PRESS RELEASE AHRC-FPR-056-2013 A […]

ASIA: Civil society needs to converge to protect rights

Statement | Asia | 10-12-2013

Commemorating the 64th Anniversary of Human Rights Day, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has released a comprehensive report, State of Human Rights in Asia 2013, covering Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Hunger in Asia. The report can be accessed here. The global theme for this year is 20 Years: Working for your rights. […]

INDIA: Female police officer complains against the police

Statement | India | 22-11-2013

This statement is released to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, 25 November Ms. Padmini, a traffic warden, has accused local police, investigating her complaint of sexual harassment, of intimidation in order to protect the interest of the offender. The officer’s contention is that, while she was on traffic duty, […]

INDIA: Stop communal violence in the state of Madhya Pradesh

Dear friends The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from civil society groups in Madhya Pradesh who have forwarded a fact-finding report regarding another incident of communal violence against Muslims in Khirkiya Nagar Panchayat, Harda District, Madhya Pradesh. The incident, which resulted in numerous people losing movable and immovable property, occurred on 19 […]

NEPAL: A man is found dead in suspicious circumstances and as the police refuse to investigate a cover-up is suspected

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a 30 year-old man was found dead in a paddy field in Rupandehi district with marks of beatings all over his body and strong evidence of foul play. However, the police refused to register the case and forced the family to cremate their […]

PHILIPPINES: Torturers and their victims: how the Anti-torture law is failing, and why

After 22 years of advocacy and lobbying, the Philippines enacted the Anti-Torture Law in November 2009. This law is not an ordinary law. The Philippines became the first country in Southeast Asia to enact a domestic law on torture. In effect, this law means the country commits itself legally to the international community to enforce […]

NEPAL: Victim and human rights activist assaulted and forced to drop charges in a case of attempted rape

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that after reporting a case of attempted rape to the police station, the 23 year old victim was assaulted by a mob to prevent her from pursuing the charges. An activist who had helped her register the case was assaulted by the mob as […]

BANGLADESH: Mr. Shahed Kayes, a human rights defender abducted and stabbed, requires immediate protection

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) condemns the abduction and attack upon Mr. Shahed Kayes, a human rights defender working in Narayanganj district in Bangladesh. A group of persons abducted Mr. Shahed Kayes, a well-respected human rights defender, working in Narayanganj district of Bangladesh, yesterday, 25 July. The AHRC is informed that Kayes’ abductors, with […]