Rule of law

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the disappearance of Mr. Sajan Avinash, a young man belonging to the Hindu faith. Sajan has gone missing following his arrest by a contingent of Pakistan Rangers, who raided his house in the early hours of March 28 2015. The reasons for his […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. J M Piyathilaka, who is a social activist and a member of the Justice of the Peace (JP.), was assaulted in public by three people at a restaurant at Jaffna Junction in Anuradhapura on 21 February 2015. He lodged a complaint at Police […]

Dear Friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that members of the Southern Peasants Federation of Thailand (SPFT) continue to face death threats in Surat Thani Province. Despite a legal judgment in favour of the Agricultural Land Reform Office five months ago, one that ordered the Jiew Kang Jue Pattana Co. Ltd., a […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about a minor girl and her mother being set on fire after their being gang-raped by three men. The girl, who suffered 90% burns, died the following day in hospital, while the mother has survived her 60% burns, regaining consciousness from coma after 26 […]

On March 24, pictures of four detainees, one of them a woman, with their hands chained and padlocked together, circulated online. The photos were taken by Bong Son, a newspaper photographer, while the detainees were being transported to another detention facility in Manila City. Photo: GMA News screen grab In response to public condemnation, Senior […]

Discrimination based on caste practices, including untouchability, is a deep and unhealed wound in India’s collective conscience. Caste-based prejudices adversely affect an estimated 160 million Indians. Despite a constitutional injunction and legislations that seeks to prohibit caste-based discrimination, the practice continues in India. Most tribal communities in the country also face discrimination that has its […]

The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) was launched with much fanfare and was touted at the vehicle to drive India’s poor out of financial untouchability; it remains one of the pet projects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A country dealing with the double whammy of a nightmarish accident toll and a virtually non-existent public […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a young man belonging with Ahamadi religious minority group was killed by the unknown men amid the military operation against the terrorists and target killings. Before his cold blooded murder he was warned and threatened that being an Ahmadi he will not be […]

By Avinash Pandey  The Supreme Court’s scrapping of Section 66 A of the Information Technology Act for being “unconstitutional in entirety” is indeed a great moment in the life of the democracy. The Act did, in fact, invade citizenry’s right of free speech “arbitrarily, excessively and disproportionately”. However, is this really a moment to celebrate […]

One of the promises of Mr. Maithripala Sirisena, as common candidate at the last presidential election, was the elimination of corruption, i.e. something the last government was steeped in. Elimination of corruption is therefore a major objective of his newly elected government. His catchwords were Yaha palanaya (good governance), which itself implies radical elimination of corruption. Today, […]

Dear Friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has detailed information on the killing of Sameera Dananjaya Pathirana (39) in the cell where he was detained in Ja-Ella Police Station. Sameera was illegally arrested on 17 March 2015. Later, police officers admitted him to the Ja-Ella Government Hospital due to his precarious medical condition. Immediately […]

In this week’s Roundup, AHRC TV covers stories from Burma, the Philippines, and Pakistan. Police and mob violence against peaceful demonstrators in Burma has sown doubt about the democratisation process in the country. AHRC TV talks to several people on the ground about recent crackdowns in Rangoon and Letpadan and whether police are continuing to […]

Students and their supporters detained in Tharawaddy Prison continue to be denied access to lawyers. In addition, the authorities have refused medical assistance for the detainees that are injured. Thus, the government continues its persecution of the Burmese students who have taken a stand against the government’s plan with respect to education. The background to […]

March 24 marks the fifth annual International Day for the Right to Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims. The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed this day in 2010 to honor the memory of victims and recognize the work of countless human rights activists around the world who have devoted […]

Many, including President Barack Obama, have been paying glowing tributes to Lee Kuan Yew since the announcement of his death this morning, 23rd March 2015. However, recalling what Lee Kuan Yew did to Dr. Chia Thye Poh and many other persons who aspired for multi-party democracy and respect for the freedom of expression in Singapore […]

Arrest brings humiliation, curtails freedom and cast scars forever. Law-makers know it so also the police. There is a battle between the law-makers and the police and it seems that the police has not learnt its lesson; the lesson implicit and embodied in the Cr.P.C. It has not come out of its colonial image despite […]

With the people Sri Lanka ousting the Mahinda Rajapaka regime, a path opened for Sri Lanka to return to the rule of law. The 1978 Constitution masterminded by J.R. Jayewardene, of which Mahinda Rajapaksa took full advantage, was aimed at completely displacing governance by rule of law in Sri Lanka.  Therefore, it is a fair […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that human body parts have been found scattered in several parts of Sri Lanka between 14th March and 18th March 2015.  Dematagoda, Nawala, and Diyawanna Oya near Parliamentary Complex are the sites in Colombo where the body parts have been found. Yatiyantota and the […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information, that a business couple from Meetiyagoda, in the Galle District, had been brutally murdered in broad daylight, in cold blood by a criminal gang. Previously, they repeatedly lodged complaints with the police requesting an investigation and protection from the criminal actions of these gangs. […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about Ms. JeyaGanesh Pakeerathy, a legal resident of France and her 14 year old daughter JeyaGanesh Pakalvia, a French citizen. Both had been illegally arrested by police officers attached to the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) of Sri Lanka on 2ndMarch, 2015 at Katunayake International Airport. They […]