Rule of law

ASIA: Women’s views on prevention of torture — Interview 5

Indonesia — A woman speaks out against policing system Answer Styannes is a law graduate from University of Indonesia. She was been involved with civil society issues and has worked for The Community Legal Aid Institute in Jacata. She spoke about her views on Indonesia’s policing system in answering questions posed to her at an […]

INDIA: Country celebrates the 61st day of successful oppression in Manipur

Today, the Union Home Ministry, the Chief Ministers of Manipur and Nagaland and a handful of Naga and Meitei nationalists are celebrating the 61st day of their successful enforcement of an indefinite economic blockade organised against the ordinary people living in Manipur state. In tribute to the strenuous effort of the All Naga Students Association […]

UPDATE (Bangladesh): Police intimidate the victim’s father by offering money to settle, out of court, the murder charge against their colleagues

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) previously informed you that the Chatkhil police, of Noakhali district had tortured a man to death on 13 May 2010 (For further details, please see our original appeal: AHRC-UAC-072-2010). Now the AHRC has received updated information. The Chatkhil police have offered money to the victim’s father in an […]

INDIA: Call for immediate compensation for the victims as well as a thorough investigation with punishment for the alleged perpetrators

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to inform you that action has been taken against officials found guilty of corruption and misappropriation of government funds intended for the poor in Orissa. However, to date the victims have not been granted compensation. Some village officials have been suspended or discharged from their duties but no […]

BANGLADESH: Chatkhil Police tortured a man to death and filed a controversial complaint to provide impunity to perpetrators

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that the Chatkhil police, of Noakhali district have tortured a man to death on 13 May 2010. The witnesses told the AHRC that the body of the deceased torture victim had several marks from injuries. The police prepared a complaint and got it signed by […]

INDIA/SOUTH KOREA: More than a hundred villagers including 50 women protesting peacefully injured in police firing and assault

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that more than a hundred villagers were injured in an incident in which the police opened fire and assaulted protestors in Orissa on 15 May. The police have reportedly fired upon the villagers who had gathered at the entrance of their village to prevent […]

BANGLADESH: A man has been killed by Rapid Action Battalion-10 team in Dhaka city

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that a Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) team killed a man on 16 March 2010. The witnesses told the AHRC that Major Kamruzzaman of the RAB-10 shot the man pointing a pistol at the person’s head in a staircase of a two-storied building. The authorities have […]

UPDATE (Burma): Human rights defender jailed for second time

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you that, as anticipated, a human rights defender in Burma was imprisoned again last week. She was originally jailed because of complaints she made against local officials and has now been imprisoned with her husband under the same charges, after appearing before the same […]

INDONESIA: More die in Aceh police custody in alleged counter-terrorism operations

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about two killings that took place during a police operation in Aceh. The men died after police arrested them and took them to an area that they believed was being used by an armed group. Both detainees were unarmed and in custody but were […]

SRI LANKA: President to take over Attorney General’s Department will further damage the rule of law

According to a report in the Daily Mirror newspaper today (May 4, 2010) there are moves to bring the Attorney General’s Department under the direct control of the president. A gazetted notice to this effect is expected to be released soon. The exact meaning on how the department is to be brought under the president […]

BURMA: Woman and man unfairly convicted for alleged contact with outlawed group

Dear friends, Even as the military regime in Burma is preparing for a general election, it is continuing to torture and imprison perceived opponents with impunity. In this appeal the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) brings you details of another flagrantly unfair and politically predetermined trial, this time of a man and a woman accused […]

PAKISTAN: The Frontier Corp brings a disappeared person in front of the media under fabricated circumstances after nine months

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that a man who went missing nine months ago near Karachi has resurfaced this month in the custody of the Frontier Corp (FC). The man’s family were prevented from filing a report by police when he was abducted and so acted through the Balochistan High […]

BURMA: Another human rights lawyer’s licence unlawfully revoked

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned of another case of a human rights lawyer in Burma whose licence to practice was revoked after being released from prison. The lawyer, Ko Phoe Phyu, was freed after heavy pressure from the International Labour Organisation as he had been imprisoned for representing villagers in […]

BANGLADESH: Man arbitrarily detained in fabricated case and tortured by Tala Police along with two others

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the Tala police in Satkhira district illegally arrested a man named Mr. Md. Sohrab Hossain on 7 January 2010 and tortured him on several occasions while in detention in police custody. The man, along with two other persons, has been detained in the […]

UPDATE (Nepal): Father and son die in custody due to police torture in Panchthar district

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from a partner organization, The Advocacy Forum, (AF) that two civilians, Dal Bahadur and his son Bikram Gyanmi Magar, have died following brutal torture in police custody at Prangbung Police Post of Panchthar District on February 13, 2010 and February 21, 2010 respectively. We […]

INDONESIA: Innocent man allegedly arrested over false charges after illegal investigation process

Dear friends, The AHRC has received information from the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), that a man has been arbitrarily arrested and tortured while being interrogated on false charges. CASE DETAILS: According to information received from the Commission for The Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), Mr. Aan was interrogated by […]

PAKISTAN: Urgent protection needed for the suvivors of love marriage-related murders; police refuse to investigate

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission has learned that authorities in North West Frontier province have taken no action to arrange urgently-needed protection for a man, his sister-in-law and her young son; all are in immediate danger of being murdered as a response to a love marriage, and three murders have already taken place. […]

BURMA: Citizen-journalist sentenced to 13 years for non-existent illegal video footage

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has obtained the details of the case against a journalist who has been imprisoned in Burma for sending video footage abroad. Ngwe Soe Linn was sentenced to 13 years in jail for supposedly sending illegal clips and going illegally into Thailand, even though there was no evidence […]

NEPAL: Police beat up three detainees in Kathmandu

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that police have severely beaten up three detainees in the Metropolitan Police Range in Hanumandhoka, Kathmandu. Torture is widely use by police forces in Nepal as an easy way to carry an investigation and goes unpunished because of legal loopholes and general unaccountability of the […]

BANGLADESH: Man arbitrarily detained and tortured to death by paramilitary force and police in Dhaka

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested a man named Md. Mohiuddin Arif from his house. Arif was arbitrarily detained for 54 hours in the custody of the RAB and tortured there as well as in his own house during a search conducted by […]