State of emergency & martial law

[Re: UA-143-2004: THAILAND: At least 84 people killed in Southern Thailand on 26 October 2004; UP-65-2004: THAILAND: A list of the victims of the mass killing in Narathiwat province; Immediate international intervention needed; UP-25-2005: THAILAND: Three generals found responsible for mass killing transferred without penalty; UP-094-2006: THAILAND: Trial opens against 58 accused in Narathiwat protest; […]

Dear friends, The Asian Legal Resource Centre has together with the Working Group on Justice for Peace (Thailand) have submitted details to the United Nations of five more persons who have disappeared from Narathiwat in southern Thailand. All five, including one child, allegedly disappeared together in October 2005 after collecting a new car. Like other […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), through its sister organisation, has submitted details to the United Nations of 12 persons who have allegedly been abducted by the security forces in southern Thailand. They are among some 23 cases acknowledged by the government of Thailand in which the families have been paid compensation, but […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is pleased to write to you today on the historic occasion of the first police officer in Argentina being sentenced to jail last Friday, August 4 for having committed forced disappearances. As you will be aware, the news of Julio Simon’s imprisonment nearly 27 years after he committed the […]

On August 4 a court in Argentina sentenced Julio Simon to 25 years in prison. Simon, who is now 65, was a police officer who in late 1978 was among those responsible for the abduction and killing of Jos?Poblete and Getrudis Hlaczik. The couple was held incommunicado for at least a month before being killed. […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 20, 2006 AS-170-2006 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission THAILAND: UN charge that killings “official policy” cannot be ignored On July 18 a senior UN human rights expert made an extraordinarily powerful and precise statement about life under the gun for the population of southern Thailand. While the government […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is greatly concerned about the apparent lack of progress in investigating over 400 unidentified bodies found in southern Thailand. Despite the months that have elapsed since news of the bodies became public, government authorities appear unwilling to allow for them to be properly exhumed and identified as […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned by reports that the authorities in southern Thailand have proposed to give large cash rewards to people who have gunfights with alleged insurgents, where the highest reward is given for killing the person. The AHRC is urging widespread attention to be paid to these […]

[Re: UA-143-2004: THAILAND: At least 84 people killed in Southern Thailand on 26 October 2004; UP-65-2004: THAILAND: A list of the victims of the mass killing in Narathiwat province; Immediate international intervention needed; UP-25-2005: THAILAND: Three generals found responsible for mass killing transferred without penalty; UP-094-2006: THAILAND: Trial opens against 58 accused in Narathiwat protest; […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about the alleged forced disappearance of a man in Narathiwat Province, southern Thailand. On May 29, Wae-halem Guwaegama allegedly disappeared nearby his house, in the vicinity of an army checkpoint. His relatives have lodged a complaint with the army but received no reply. The […]

On Monday, June 5, Angkhana Neelaphaijit together with a number of Thailand-based groups submitted in person an open letter to the recently-formed Independent Commission on Justice and Civil Liberties for the Southern Border Provinces. The commission is expected to take a lead role in addressing the continued bloodshed in the south, following in the footsteps […]

The numerous appointments to key national commissions by the executive president, contravening constitutional requirements, are a very clear indication of Sri Lanka’s drift from a law-based society to one in which the law plays a significantly reduced role.  While criticism against presidential actions has pointed to matters including the fact that no person is above […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) expresses our condolences to those who have lost loved ones and others who have been affected by the earthquake that struck the city of Yogyakarta, Indonesia on 27 May 2006. It has been reported that nearly 5,000 people have been killed, while 20,000 are injured and 200,000 […]

On April 24, the government of Thailand submitted the country’s candidacy for the new UN Human Rights Council. The election of the council’s first members is planned for May 9. The election should be viewed as a good opportunity for serious examination of the human rights records of candidates, including Thailand. In this respect, Thailand’s […]

Since it was reported on April 26 that General Sonthi Boonyaratglin admitted that the Thai army and police are using “blacklists” to hunt for alleged insurgents in the south, discussion has turned on how the lists are being made. “One wonders exactly what sort of evidence is needed to have a person put on one […]

Dear friends, The head of the army in Thailand is reported as having admitted that the security forces in the south of the country are using “blacklists” to hunt down alleged insurgents in the south. He has also admitted that there are names of persons on the lists who are not genuine suspects. The Asian […]

[Re: UA-143-2004: THAILAND: At least 84 people killed in Southern Thailand on 26 October 2004; UP-65-2004: THAILAND: A list of the victims of the mass killing in Narathiwat province; Immediate international intervention needed; UP-25-2005: THAILAND: Three generals found responsible for mass killing transferred without penalty] —————————————————— UP-094-2006: THAILAND: Trial opens against 58 accused in Narathiwat […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission welcomes the landmark ruling by the Supreme Court of Nepal on Monday February 13, 2006, which declared the controversial Royal Commission for Corruption Control (RCCC) unconstitutional and ordered it to be scrapped immediately. This has paved the way for the release of ousted Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who had […]

[RE: UP-013-2006: BANGLADESH: Three persons tortured by the Chapainawabganj police; UA-041-2006: BANGLADESH: Eight people killed and at least one hundred injured by police fire in Chapainawabganj district; UA-013-2006: BANGLADESH: Two people killed and thirty-five injured by police fire in Chapainawabganj district] ———————————– UP-016-2006: BANGLADESH: Three detained and tortured leaders have been released from prison in […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed of the shocking beating to death of two marine officers on 21 September 2005 and the subsequent arrest of 12?villagers in Muang district, Narathiwat province, southern Thailand. The marine officers were reportedly involved in a shooting incident that killed two villagers and wounded four […]