Rule of law

PAKISTAN: Appeasement policy towards religious intolerance leads to murder of a governor

The nation has suffered a great loss due to this tragic murder. A voice of sanity has been silenced. This has happened at a time when the kind of political leadership provided by Salman Taseer is most needed. He stood for basic values which are essential for the stability of Pakistan. His shocking death should […]

INDIA: Manipur Police detain journalist to silence the media

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from a local human rights organization based in Manipur, the Human Rights Alert (HRA), concerning the case of a journalist who has been detained by the state police in an alleged attempt to silence the local media in the state. The Manipur State Police […]

SRI LANKA: Police refuse to conduct investigation into malpractice during the Sri Lanka Law College exam and threaten the life of the complainant

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a law student Mr. Dasanayaka Mudiyanselage Thushara Jayarathna of No: 4/8, Edirisinghe road, Nugegoda, a final year student of the Sri Lanka Law College, has complained to the Keselwatte Police Station and other law enforcement agencies of the country regarding a malpractice which […]

SRI LANKA: The re-immergence of fear psychosis the Jaffna District

Dear friends,   We wish to share with you the following statement from Networking for Rights (NfR) Sri Lanka.   Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong   ————-   NfR expresses its serious concern about the deterioration of the law and order situation in the Northern Districts of Sri Lanka. The series of killings that […]

SRI LANKA: New Year Wish List – 2011

We hope that wishing for a happy new year in Sri Lanka is not just mere wishful thinking. We wish: 1. That Rizana Nafeek, facing a death sentence in Saudi Arabia, will be released as soon as possible. This wish can become true only if the Sri Lankan government makes all the diplomatic efforts to […]

ASIA: Christmas and New Year Wishes from the Asian Human Rights Commission

The Asian Human Rights Commission wishes everyone a merry Christmas and a happy new year. In all countries of Asia, this Christmas and new year will be celebrated in very difficult conditions. We extend our wishes to all families who are struggling in the midst of these difficulties to fight for their rights. We particularly […]

PAKISTAN: Sharia Court Launches Major Challenge to Protection of Women Act

On 22 December 2010, after three years and four petitions, the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) of Pakistan declared several critical clauses of the Protection of Women (Criminal Laws Amendment) Act of 2006 unconstitutional. In place of this act that created protections for women, the FSC supports the reinstatement of the Hudood Ordinances VII of 1979, […]

INDIA: Stop talking and start acting

Statement | India | 21-12-2010

The 83rd Plenary Session of the Indian National Congress (INC), held in New Delhi has declared that eradicating corruption would be a priority for the INC and thus for the national government, formed under the banner of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and led by the INC. The President as well as other leaders of […]

INDIA: 10 questions to Chidambaram on Manipur

Statement | India | 14-12-2010

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) appreciates the effort taken by the Home Minister of India in undertaking a visit to Manipur. Manipur is one of the states in India with a poor human rights record. During the past three years the number of encounter killings reported from the state has steadily increased, until the […]

THAILAND: The disappearance of a person and the disappearance of a criminal case

Over six-and-a-half years after police abducted and presumably killed human rights lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit, no one has yet been punished. The one police officer among five accused who was found guilty of a relatively minor criminal charge and sentenced to three years in jail appealed the conviction and while out of prison on bail himself […]

PHILIPPINES: ‘Morong 43’ case–exposes a prosecution system directly under political control

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) welcomes with reservations President Benigno Aquino III’s order to withdraw the charges against 43 health workers, collectively known as ‘Morong 43′, as reported today. We strongly believe, based on the documents and information that we have also obtained, that they should have not been arrested, detained, and forced to […]

PHILIPPINES: Broken and lawless — reasons why it has become

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is encouraged by the ongoing public discussion and debate on the internet to a Statement that we have issued, titled: Philippines–Broken and lawless nation–killing in front of families. We are also not surprise by the statement of Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr., spokesman of the Philippine National Police (PNP); and […]

BURMA: Ailing human rights defender transferred to another prison

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 […]

PHILIPPINES: Maguindanao massacre case demonstrates the delusion of the existence of a justice system

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 […]

SOUTH KOREA: Statement of resignation from Mr. Nam-Young YOU, former standing commissioner of NHRCK

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 […]

PAKISTAN: A woman was gang raped and kept for 50 days in a private detention center of police

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 […]

INDIA/SOUTH KOREA: Korean civil society’s fact-finding report on POSCO project urges the Orissa government to respect a democratic procedure and rule of law instead of allowing human rights violations

(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 […]

SRI LANKA: An appeal to save the life of the young girl facing death sentence in Saudi Arabia

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 […]

INDIA: Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 should be repealed

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 […]

IRAN: Tomorrow, Iran could execute Sakineh Ashtiani

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 […]