Right to fair trial

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is pleased to inform you that an ailing man whom we reported earlier to have been arrested and detained in place of another man wanted for murder will be released today. The police arrested him, not because he was the real suspect, but because he ‘looked the […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission has learned that direct intervention from the Attorney General’s Office of Bangladesh is preventing the release of ASM Nasiruddin Elan, Director of Odhikar, a Bangladesh based human rights organisations, despite the High Court having granted bail to the prominent human rights defender. That the Attorney General’s Office can impede a high […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission condemns the detention of ASM Nasiruddin Elan and demands his immediate release. Mr. ASM Nasiruddin Elan, Director of Bangladeshi human rights organization, Odhikar, has been detained in prison by the Cyber Crimes Tribunal of Dhaka, today, November 6, 2013. This detention is part of the continued repression against the whistle-blowers […]

The Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA), the largest bar association of the country, in a general body meeting has passed a resolution against the conduct of three judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan including the Chief Justice, Iftekhar Muhammad Chaudhry. The resolution has demanded that a reference be filed against them before the […]

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 […]

On July 3rd 2013, President Mahinda Rajapaksha published a gazette that authorized the armed forces to engage in “the maintenance of public order”. Last week, he announced a new ministry under the title “the Ministry of Law and Order”. By these two acts, the Sri Lankan civilian police have been virtually reduced to nothing, and […]

At a recently held seminar, a group of 20 lawyers made the following recommendations for the improvement of court proceedings, particularly on human rights matters. 1. When an FR (Fundamental Rights) application is supported for Leave to Proceed, and the Respondents have not yet filed any objections, none of the Respondents (which include the Attorney […]

You said to me “ I can bear anything” with stubborn eyes you faced the sun until blindness became a ball of flame and the flame turned the sea to salt. – Lu Xiaobo : Ne enemies , No Hatred It was few days ago that they came and dragged him to their vehicle and took […]

Human rights defender and philanthropic educator Shahed Kayes knew there were serious risks involved in his work. He had to, as nothing in Bangladesh comes without associated risks. He knew that his attempt to educate impoverished children from the low castes was unacceptable to the deeply entrenched local power structure and those at the top […]

Impeaching the Chief Justice and Sri Lankan Politics By Upul Abeyrathne1 “All are accordingly bound by the necessity of keeping the law, unless perchance there is any who can be thought to have been given the license of wrong-doing. However, it is said that the prince absolved from obligations of the law, but it is […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that several Pakistani citizens currently incarcerated in Damman Prison in Saudi Arabia face death by beheading for allegedly trafficking drugs into Saudi Arabia. The Pakistanis in question, all hailing from poor families, were in fact forced to carry the drugs. In some cases the […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from a local NGO, the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), regarding the fabrication of charges and torture committed by the police against a 72-year old man and his two sons. The innocent men were falsely charged, tried and sentenced to […]

A Joint Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission and Odhikar A survivor of torture, relatives of a survivor and of two victims of death, who were tortured to death in police custody, have shared their gruesome experiences in a People’s Tribunal today, June 26, 2013, in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Bangladeshi human rights group Odhikar, in collaboration with the […]

“Out of 4835 Members of Parliament and Members of the Legislative Assembly analysed, 1448 members or 31% have declared criminal cases against them in a self sworn affidavit filed with the Election Commission of India.” This alarming statistic is taken from a report conducted in 2012 by the Association for Democratic Reforms in India (full […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about allegedly illegal demolition of around 120 houses in Florentino St., Sto. Domingo, Quezon City on April 10-11, 2013. The information sent to the AHRC by Barangay Sto. Domingo Settlers Association through Defend Jobs Philippine asserts that the demolitions were carried out in violation […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about the case of a young man whom the authorities in Burma have accused of involvement in a bombing nearby government offices. Police alleged that Kyaw Swa Lin was involved merely because he was found to have a diary in his house with some […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed that an ailing man whom the police have illegally arrested and detained as a substitute for a wanted man will not be released from jail. The police justified their action by insisting they had proof that the victim’s facial features and those of the […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is sharing with you a letter, written from prison, by Renante Gamara, a political activist whom police tortured and questioned in the absence of a legal counsel during his arrest on April 3, 2012. In his letter he writes about the investigation by the Commission on Human […]

On 18 April 2013, the Attorney General for Bangladesh Mr. Mahbubey Alam participated in the hearing of a writ petition before a High Court Division Bench of the Bangladesh Supreme Court. The writ was filed by Mrs. Firoza Mahmud, wife of Daily Amardesh‘s Interim Editor Mahmudur Rahman. Mrs. Mahmud had challenged the order of the Chief […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is sharing with you the notes taken during the trial observation of falsely charged activist, Temogen ‘Cocoy’ Tulawie. As mentioned earlier, the trial of Tulawie’s case had already been transferred to Manila and he is presently now detained in that city. After his trial was moved to […]