Threats and intimidation

[RE: AHRC-HAC-005-2015: PHILIPPINES: Stop demolition against Laguna Lakeshore Community in Taguig Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information from Defend Job Philippines about the ongoing demolition and evictions targeting the urban poor community of the Laguna Lakeshore area of Taguig City. The authorities have already demolished the houses of community […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding five indigenous Papuans charged with treason.  They were arrested and detained after attending a meeting at the invitation of the Minister of Defense, Retired General Ryamizard Ryacudu. It was sponsored by the military of the province [Kodam Cenderawasih], the Papuan Regional Intelligence Office […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding military intervention in academic discourse on the subject of Balochistan. A talk scheduled at the Lahore University of Management Science on Balochistan has been cancelled on the written orders of Lieutenant-General Rizwan Akhter, Director General of Pakistan’s notorious intelligence agency, the ISI. Two prominent […]

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 […]

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 […]

Dear Friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes with deep concern regarding ongoing threats by soldiers to a woman human rights defender. She had been forced to act as their guide in military operations pursuing rebels. If she refuses or tells them there are no rebels in the area, they threaten her. The victim […]

The academic activities of the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science & Technology (FUUAST), where 13,000 students are enrolled, are severely affected by the defunct vice chancellor and suspended registrar who have filed cases against 14 teaching staff. Besides cases, the suspended registrar has issued, on three different occasions, the show cause notices to chairman […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information that no redress has yet been provided for farmers from central Burma that were attacked violently by the police during peaceful protest. Without any warrant or court order, the police used guns on the protesters. Farmers lodged a case against the police but […]

Dear Friends, The Jagaran Media Center (JMC) has informed the Asian Human Rights Commission that a pregnant 21-year-old woman, Rajani Thapa Magar, who married Lal Bahadur Bishwokarma, a Dalit man, has been beaten by her family. The woman’s family belongs to the Magar ethnic community. The police have apprehended five members of Rajani’s family. However, […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding continuing threats to torture victim Padam Bahadur Khadka, who was 14 years old at the time of the original incident. On 2 October 2011, Mr. Man Bahadur Khadka, a Lance Corporal in the Nepal Army, allegedly tortured Padam, suspecting Padam of killing a […]

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on Human Rights Day 2014 The second Constituent Assembly election, which was held on 19 November 2013, changed the political situation of Nepal. The Maoists, which got the highest number of votes in the first Constituent Assembly elections, clocked in third this time. The Nepali Congress (NC) […]

by Jack Clancey During this past week, Central was occupied by thousands of demonstrators, as was Admiralty, Wanchai, Causeway Bay, and other parts of Hong Kong. The key question being asked is: What needs to be done to end the demonstrations? One of the two key demands of the leaders of the Occupy Central movement […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that the judicial harassment of Pornpen Khongkachonkiet and Somchai Homlaor, long-standing and prominent human rights defenders and director and chairperson, respectively, of the Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF) in Thailand, is ongoing. They have been accused of defaming the army and face potential legal prosecution for […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission has received shocking reports of journalists having to face the worst ordeals possible, during the course of the year 2014. Four journalists and five of their supporting staff have been killed by “un-known” persons and more than 38 journalists were attacked and injured by the police and mostly by those […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission has received information from the Defend Job  Philippines about the forced demolition of roughly 277 houses in Sitio Balacabacan, Laiya, Batangas, Philippines. The demolitions were carried out on 3 July 2014. The AHRC has also learnt that the authorities are intimidating the community which is now living in […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that security agencies have started targeting the family members of Baloch refugees who have fled to western countries. Reports state that family members including children of these refugees have been arrested by plain clothed persons and have been abducted in unmarked vehicles. Their whereabouts […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Defend Job Philippines about the forced eviction of a community from Factor Compound in Las Pinas city. The police also fired in the air to intimidate the community. CASE NARRATIVE: On the morning of 19 August 2014, more than 120 members of the […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that 17-year-old Bijay Khadka and 16-year-old Govinda Malla, residents of Sonashree VDC 05 and 06 respectively, were arrested for theft by the police. The two were then tortured by various physical means. They have complained of being forced to confess to the crime and […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a couple are missing and their family members have been forcibly displaced after an inter-caste marriage since 27thJuly 2014. This incident had taken place in Labani, Village Development Committee-5, Kapilvastu in Nepal where Binaya Kumar Harijan, 21 years old belonging to the Dalit […]

Statement on the Judicial Harassment of Leading Human Rights Defender, Ms. Pornpen Khongkachonkiet We, the undersigned civil society groups, are gravely concerned about the criminal legal action taken for defamation and libel against the Cross Cultural Foundation, headed by Ms. Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, by the Army’s Task Force 41. Ms. Pornpen, Director of the Cross Cultural […]