Rule of law

Basil Fernando What Sarath Fonseka and Sam Rainsy have in common is that they are the most popular opposition leaders in their countries and that they have been jailed for that very reason. Political popularity is treated as a serious crime in both countries, where the ruling parties are aspiring to create one party rule. […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a man has died in the custody of the Kottawa Police. He was arrested in the evening 23 May 2010 and brought to the Kottawa Police Station where he was detained inside the police cell. The victim was found dead on the following […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a seven-year-old child was gunned down by officers attached to the Maharagama Police at Beruwala town, which is well outside their jurisdiction, on 15 September 2010. The injured child was admitted to the Beruwala Government Hospital and transferred to the General Hospital of […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a man was shot dead by police officers while in the custody of an officer attached to the Special Task Force (STF) of the Sri Lankan Police. He was arrested on 31 August 2010 and brought to Colombo. While travelling by police jeep […]

The contempt of court proceedings initiated against Advocate Prashant Bushan in the Supreme Court of India for the allegations he made against some of the former Chief Justices of the country will test the maturity of India’s judicial system and that of its democratic framework. Indeed the Court has a statutory right to initiate proceedings […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a man was found with fatal injuries to the stomach caused by sharp weapon while in the custody of the Moratuwa Police Station. He was arrested on 22 September 2010 and detained in the police station. He was found with fatal injuries in […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that Ms. Chiranuch Premchaiporn, director of Prachatai online newspaper, was detained by the immigration police at Suvarnabhumi Airport, in Samutprakarn province near Bangkok, and transferred to Khon Kaen police station, in northeastern Thailand. She has been charged with violating the Computer Crimes Act BE.2550 (2007) […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received details of a complaint that two brothers have lodged against police in Pegu, Burma over a serious assault. According to them, a group of local police in plain clothes beat them up after the police thought that one was using his mobile phone to take […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a man was shot dead by police officers while he was in the custody of an officer attached to the Supugaskanda Police Station. He was arrested on the morning of 4 September 2010, brought to distant location and shot dead a few hour […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding a serious case of police violence which occurred on 15 August 2010 at Sekhuwana chock in Nawalparasi District. In this incident, a 40-year-old farmer, Rudal Yadav, was arrested by 10 policemen, handed over to the Indian police, without following any legal extradition procedure […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a man was illegally arrested, arbitrarily detained and severely tortured by officers of the Urubokka Police Station. He was later released without any charge but there are no official records of his arrest and detention. He was later admitted to the Teaching Hospital […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a man who was severely tortured by officers of the Kiribathgoda Police Station later succumbed to his injuries. Following his arrest the officers of the police station turned over his body to the Teaching Hospital of Ragama. Later at the inquest two police […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the bodies of a lawyer and his cousin from Balochistan province have been found. Both bodies bore marks of severe torture. They had been allegedly arrested by the Frontier Corp (FC), a paramilitary force of Pakistan. Another lawyer and four other persons were […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the Sri Lankan Navy arrested a civilian and later handed him over to officers of the Maravila Police Station. They in turn handed over the victim to officers of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Later the CID officers tortured the victim and denied […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a man who was severely tortured later succumbed to his injuries. He was arrested by police officers attached to the Kirindiwela Police Station who later fabricated the story that the deceased had fallen out of a police vehicle. However, several villagers witnessed the […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 15, 2010 AHRC-OLT-010-2010 An Open Letter to Faith Suzzette delos Reyes-Kong, senior legal officer of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR 9) by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) Ms. Faith Suzzette delos Reyes-Kong Senior Legal Officer Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHR 9) 2nd Floor, Philippine Veterans Bank […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the custodial death of Mr. Mizanur Rahman, who was extrajudicially killed by the Gulshan Police in Dhaka after having been kept in arbitrary detention for two days (For further details, please see our original appeal here: AHRC-UAC-107-2010). The AHRC has received the statement […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a man was severely tortured before being illegally arrested and detained by officers of the Welippena Police Station. Following the torture the officers displayed the man in public before the villagers before taking him to the station where they later filed fabricated charges […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that man was abducted by a group of unknown persons in Dadalla, Galle. The relatives of the victim believe the abduction is due to a land dispute that they had with a high profile businessman. While the relatives have made several complaints to the […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Azad Kashmir region of Pakistan, that Mr. Asim Zakir, a young man who was previously arrested by the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), an intelligence agency of the Pakistani armed forces, was extrajudicially killed when his jeep was destroyed in an explosion. In […]