Torture

This week’s episode of Just Asia covers International Women’s Day, marked annually on March 8, to reflect on women’s struggles to achieve their rights. This year’s theme is “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality”. Looking at women in Asia, Just Asia begins with Pakistan, where many cultural and religious practices pose […]

March 12, 2016 is the twelfth anniversary of the enforced disappearance of Somchai Neelaphaijit. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) marks this date by bringing attention to the ongoing failure of the Thai judicial system to establish the truth behind his disappearance and to call for justice in his case and that of other disappeared […]

Reports of a series of killings attributed to underworld elements have sent shockwaves amongst all Sri Lankans, whether living in Sri Lanka or outside. Almost everyone was speculating as to what these killings aimed to achieve. Some thought the killings were mainly directed towards witnesses of serious crimes being investigated, or already brought to court. […]

The government of Maharashtra has finally woken up to the agrarian crisis that has, according to official statistics, already ensnared the lives of 124 farmers in the state in the first 45 days of the year. Awoken, the government has decided to take action. And, the action that the government has decided to take is […]

Dear Friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to express concern regarding the arrest and torture of four men in Cavite. The victims were tied, beaten and electrocuted. They were arbitrarily arrested and forced to confess to participation in an alleged bombing. They were later charged with illegal possession of firearms and explosives, and […]

Dear Friends, The AHRC has received information from its partner organization Nervazhi that five youngsters have been tortured and harassed at a police station in Kerala. They were riding their motorbikes when the Anthikkad police stopped them. The police proceeded to harass and torture them for 10 hours. They were questioned about whether they had […]

Domestic violence is rampant throughout the world. In Pakistan, however, female victims of such violence are left without reprieve, as they have to suffer the dogma of being labelled loose women if they decide to stand up to their abusers, who are usually male family members. So Pakistani women have been staying in abusive relationships, […]

This week’s episode of Just Asia begins with the re-arrest of Indian activist Irom Sharmila, two days after being acquitted of attempted suicide charges. On hunger strike for the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act causing widespread abuses in Manipur, Sharmila has been arrested and released several times over the past 15 years. […]

In a conservative society like Pakistan, being a trans-person is deemed a crime. The transgender community is treated as outcastes having no identity or rights. Like other marginalized factions of the society, the transgender suffer discrimination and injustice at the hands of the influential. According to Front Line Defender, the International Foundation for the Protection […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned about the continued harassment, assault and torture of indigenous villagers by several military forces of the 73rd Infantry Battalion Philippine Army in separate incidents. In one incident, the villagers were forced to evacuate due to the encampment of military forces. In another incident, a […]

In this week’s episode, Just Asia covers the commemoration of the 1989 Talangsari Massacre in Indonesia. Although the Talangsari Massacre was mentioned by President Widodo as one of his government’s priorities, until now no concrete solution has been provided. Next, Just Asia looks at the unrest at India’s prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). The unrest […]

This week’s episode of Just Asia focuses on Hong Kong, where the first day of the Lunar New Year saw violent clashes between protesters and police. The unrest caused shock and increased the sense of uncertainty lingering in the wake of the disappearance of five booksellers in January. The violence erupted overnight as police attempted […]

On 11 February 2016 the Thai army threatened human rights defenders for documenting the military’s continued use of torture on detainees in the country’s south. Major General Banpot Poonpien, the spokesperson for a specialist counterinsurgency agency, the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC), accused the human rights groups of fabricating accounts of torture to obtain funding […]

In this episode, Just Asia continues to cover critical human rights flashpoints in Asia. In Pakistan, three employees of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) have been killed in clashes near the Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, on February 3. The employees were on a countrywide protest against privatization of the national airlines. Around 30 persons have also been […]

A 21-year-old woman committed suicide by hanging herself on 28 January 2016. In her suicide note the woman wrote about the most obvious and the ugly truth of India: that of losing faith in the country’s criminal justice process. She wrote: “Please mummy, papa forgive me. I will not get justice anymore, nor will I […]

A Press Releasefrom Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF), Duay Jai Group, and Patani Human Rights Networkforwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) And Public discussion on the Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment in Thailand’s Deep South Project Rationale The eruption of the unrest in Thailand’s Deep South can be attributed […]

A Statement from Roshni helpline Research and Development Organization forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission The missing children’s search and recovery organization Roshni Helpline has published its annual report for 2015 on missing children in Karachi Pakistan, one of the largest industrial cities. A total of 2160 children have been reported missing in the […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been closely monitoring incidents in Nepal’s Terai. The AHRC had been eagerly waiting for the government and the agitating forces to strike a deal. However, today, even after 6 months of standstill, there is no progression. The government has not discarded its killing attitude; protests and killings are […]

A Press Release from the Kachin Women’s Association Thailand (KWAT) and Legal Aid Network (LAN) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) New report exposes systematic cover-up of Myanmar Army involvement in Kachin rape-murder case A new report exposes the systematic cover-up of the Myanmar Army’s involvement in the rape-murder of two Kachin teachers […]

We are publishing today a statement by JayakumarThangavelu ,a retired senior police officer, who held the rank of DIG in charge of legal division about his experiences as an investigator into political crimes and in witness protection. He writes, “In addressing this subject, I put down my experience of forty years in the Sri Lankan […]