Rule of law

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned by the transfer of Ma Sandar, an ailing human rights defender convicted on fabricated charges, to another prison without the knowledge of her family. Her family has lost contact with her and do not know where she is presently being held. UPDATED INFORMATION: We […]

It does not take much time for any rational person to agree that the families and the victims of the Maguindanao massacre must obtain justice. Anything less is unacceptable. The sheer evil that the perpetrators demonstrated in killing 57 innocent people, 32 of whom were journalists; and to disappear one person, in the manner that […]

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following statement of resignation from Mr. Nam-Young YOU, Standing Commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- A Statement of resignation from Mr. Nam-Young YOU, a former standing commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea forwarded […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a woman, who received a stay order from court over a dispute on ownership of her house, was picked up by policemen and their informers and taken to a private detention centre where she was gang raped for more than 50 days. The […]

(Hong Kong, November 10, 2010) Korean civil society groups have published their official report on fact-finding research for the POSCO project launched by the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Orissa government in 2005. The fact-finding team composed of two lawyers and a human rights activist who are experts on monitoring of human rights violations […]

An Open Letter to the President of India For further information about AFSPA please read INDIA: AFSPA promotes armed insurgency in Manipur   Mrs. Pratibha Devisingh Patil President of India Rashtrapati Bhavan New Delhi INDIA Fax: +91-11-23017290 Dear President INDIA: Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 should be repealed I am writing on behalf of the […]

An article from Daily News and Sri Lanka Guardian forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Save Rizana  By Malinda Senevitane It is the nature of the engagement that makes enemies and friends and therefore some circumspection is called for when one reacts to or grapples with things ‘foreign’, especially in matters that are clearly located, politically and geographically […]

A Statement from Alice Jay — Avaaz.org forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission IRAN: Tomorrow, Iran could execute Sakineh Ashtiani Our global outcry stopped her unjust stoning sentence in July. Now we have 24 hours to save her life.  Iran’s allies and key UN powers are our best hope — they could persuade Iran […]

An Open Letter to His Excellency the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Saudi Arabia The Asian Human Rights Commission has sent the following letter to His Excellency the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. We encourage others who are concerned with the life of Rizana Nafeek to communicate with the Ambassador and support him in order […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) illegally arrested a lawyer named Mr. Mantu Ghosh detained him in a number of fabricated charges for 72 days. Mr. Ghosh is a central committee member of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) and an advisor to the […]

Nothing can be worse for a country in the modern world than to have a bad constitution. Anybody with common sense would not find it difficult to understand that proposition. The constitution lays down the underlying organizing principles of a society. A bad constitution creates a badly organized society. To be badly organized, in a […]

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following article from Professor Angana Chatterji on Kashmir. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- An article from Professor Angana Chatterji forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission By Prof. Angana Chatterji* The 8-point Plan, New Delhis political initiative to address the crises in Kashmir, attests […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that the Gosairhat Police of Shariatpur district, around 120 kilometers far from Dhaka, have brutally tortured a man to death. The relatives and witnesses allege that the body of the torture victim, Mr. Mokles Matbor, bore several marks from the injuries sustained. The police had […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission has received information from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and other rights groups about brutal form of torture to the prisoners. The male organ of three prisoners were taped for many hours in such a way that they could no longer urinate. Each was then forced […]

*Avinash Pandey  Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka was the guest of honour at the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games 2010, New Delhi. He presided over the extravagant ceremony that would declare the arrival of India on the big stage, conclusively. Presiding over something is nothing new for the President. He has presided over […]

SRI LANKA: How does the constitutional question affect the question of Sri Lankan identity? Basil Fernando  The question of ‘identity’ means who is a Sri Lankan? It could be spoken of purely in sentimental terms and by that sense it might work in a particular territory. We can all call ourselves Sri Lankans and that […]

Rebecca Buckwalter-Poza Endemic over-simplification by internal and external actors and purposeful attempts to reframe political debates have ensured the conversation concerning Sri Lanka’s government continues to be conducted in democratic terms. Yet that categorization is presumptive. Using the lexicon of democracy to discuss Sri Lanka presupposes that the state is fundamentally democratic or accepts that […]

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following article from the Sri Lanka Guardian. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong   ————- An article from Sri Lanka Guardian forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Posted by Sri Lanka Guardian statement 7:41:00 AM A new paper by the Sri Lanka Campaign charts destruction […]

Basil Fernando Robberies- Police and 18th Amendment October 11 Anuradhapura – Rs. 1,100,000 — Rs. 1.1 million October 8 Nugegoda – Rs.1,400,000 — Rs. 1.4 million October 5 Rawathwaththa – Rs.100,000 — One Hundred Thousand October 3 Paliyagoda Wanawasala – Rs.70,000,000 — Rs. 70 million   Above mentioned incidents are just a few of the robberies […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a man was shot dead by police officers attached to the Pitigala Police Station on 27 August 2010. A wood cutter by profession the victim was shot at Wadumulla, Delpawana in Benthota State Plantation and later succumbed to his injuries. Police claim that […]