Prosecution system

The people of Bangladesh have created an opportunity for themselves by way of a mass intervention in order to oust the rule of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and as a result, she has fled the country after resigning from her position. The people were mostly led by students and independent movements of people rather […]

In a speech read to the Parliament today, the honourable Prime Minister challenged the validity of the interim order issued by the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, stopping the incumbent Inspector General of Police (IGP) from functioning in his official capacity till a final decision is made by the Supreme Court on several petitions filed […]

පොලිස්පතිගේ වැඩ තහනම් කිරීමේ අතුරු නියෝගය තුලින් අතිශයින් අනාගතය කෙරෙහි බලපෑ හැකි වෙනස්කම් ගනනාවක් වහාම ක්‍රියාත්මක කරවා ගැනීමේ ඉඩකඩක් දැන් පහලව පවතී. රටෙිම දැඩි විරෝධයට හේතුවූ මෙම පොලිස්පතිවරයාගේ පත්කිරීම තුලින් රටේ නීතිය හා සාමය පවත්වාගෙන යාමට ඉතා බරපතල අවහිරයක් පැනනැගුනා පමණක් නොව, රටේ අරාජිකත්වය වැපිරීමට හා බරපතල අපරාධ පැතිරී යාම වැඩි වීමටද තත්වයක් පහල විය. […]

A statement from the Judicial Service Association of Sri Lanka Published by News First forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission We are forwarding below the report of the News First published on 24th of June, which is a response by the Judicial Service Association of Sri Lanka in response to an attack made by the Minister […]

A Statement from CIVICUS forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission In Indonesia, civic space remains rated as “obstructed”. Among the main concerns are the use of restrictive laws, including defamation provisions against human rights defenders and journalists as well as harassment and threats against them. The authorities have criminalised Papuan activists for their peaceful […]

A Statement from CIVICUS forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission The state of civic space in Nepal is rated as ‘obstructed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor. Documented violations of fundamental freedoms include arbitrary arrests and the use of excessive force with impunity during protests, as well as the ongoing targeting of journalists, including through harassment, […]

 The Asian Human Rights Commission wishes to share with you the following video produced by LEADS YouTube Channel.  It is a recording of a conversation among a group of persons interested in pursuing system change in Sri Lanka. Presenter Mr. Basil Fernando provides an initial outline of the problems caused by the existing constitution of Sri […]

A Statement from CIVICUS forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission The CIVICUS Monitor added Pakistan to its watchlist of countries in March 2024, following the repression against the opposition, the censorship of journalists and attacks on peaceful protests around the elections. Other ongoing concerns include the criminalisation, threats and harassment of human rights defenders and the […]

By Basil Fernando In the context of Sri Lanka, a crucial question arises: Does the country still possess the capability to effectively prosecute crimes? This query can be raised for numerous reasons. However, even before delving into these underlying issues, one glaring reality has become evident to the people of Sri Lanka in recent years: […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AHRC-OLT-002-2024 April 19, 2024 An Open Letter from the Asian Human Rights Commission to Open Letter to H. E. the Cardinal Malcom Ranjith and all the members of the Catholic Bishops’ conference in Sri Lanka H. E. Cardinal Malcom Ranjith Archbishop’s House Colombo – 8 Sri Lanka Tel: +94-11-2695471 Fax: +94-11-2692009 Email: […]

A Statement from CIVICUS forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission The CIVICUS Monitor added Pakistan to its watchlist of countries in early March 2024, following the repression against the opposition, the censorship of journalists and attacks on peaceful protests around the elections. Elections were held in Pakistan on 8th February 2024. Ahead of the elections, the […]

Hong Kong, March 07, 2024  As there is a curiosity on the part of many persons and organizations about the Rule issued against Mr Nagananda Kodituwakku Attorney-at-law by the Supreme Court we are sharing the basic documents that provide the essential information about this case. The Rule was made under Judicature act 42(2) while ordering […]

A Statement from CIVICUS forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission The CIVICUS Monitor in December 2023 downgraded Sri Lanka’s civic space rating to ‘repressed,’ with authorities clamping down on protesters, stifling journalists and targeting activists amid mounting public frustration with poor governance and a lack of accountability. In January 2024, Human Rights Watch said […]

(Hong Kong, January 16, 2024) The Panel of Judges at the East Jakarta District Court has issued an acquittal verdict regarding the case of criminalisation against Ms. Fatia Maulidiyanti (the Director of the Commission for the Disappearances and Victims of Violence [KontraS] for the 2020-2023 period) and Mr. Haris Azhar (the Founder of the LOKATARU […]

The trial process of Ms. Fatia Maulidiyanti, a Coordinator of the Commission for Disappearances and Victims of Violence / KontraS 2020-2023 and Mr. Haris Azhar,the Founder of the Lokataru Foundation, finally entered the stage of reading the prosecution by the Public Prosecutor (Jaksa Penuntut Umum/JPU). However, before the Prosecutor submitted the prosecution, the legal team of Fatia and Haris also submitted documentary evidence which […]

IMF in its recent report issued in September titled Sri Lanka; Technical Assistance Report-Governance Diagnostic Assessment, has directed its attention to the problems relating to the independence in conduct of prosecutions into crimes in Sri Lanka. It points to the absence of independent prosecutor in Sri Lanka and also notes that this given rise to real or perceived […]

By Basil Fernando The sentencing of a former Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police for giving illegal orders not to arrest a suspect. The reported sentencing of former Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police, Lalith Jayasinghe, for giving illegal orders to prevent the arrest of a person allegedly involved in the shooting which resulted in […]

A Statement from Asia Democracy Network forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Seoul, Korea – The Asia Democracy Network (ADN) vehemently condemns the recent sentencing of Adilur Rahman Khan and Nasiruddin Elan, activists attached to the Odhikar human rights organization in Bangladesh. Their unjust imprisonment on trumped-up charges is a grave violation of their […]

(Hong Kong, August 09, 2023)  ​​​​​​​Written submission to the Supreme Court on the “Contempt of a Court, Tribunal or Institution” Bill The Bill titled “Contempt of a Court, Tribunal or Institution” came for discussion before the Supreme Court on the 3rd and 4th of August. After the oral submission, written submissions were allowed to be filed by […]

By Basil Fernando A month or so earlier, it was a lawyer practicing mainly in a High Court closer to Colombo, that contacted me and told me about his concerns about a draft Bill which has been discussed amongst his colleagues which was about the introduction a draft of a Contempt of Court Bill. He […]