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Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. Kadireshan Ravishankar of No. 721, Dickoya Road, Dickoya, in the Nuwara Eliya District, was severly tortured by...

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. Rasika Jayasekara (33), his parents Mr. K.M J Bandara (69), and Mrs. W.M. Kumarihami (60) of No: 22/1, Waragoll...

This week Just Asia begins with Nepal, where 22 Madhesi activists were arrested on October 23 while participating in a Leadership Development workshop. Affiliated with Dr. C.K. Raut and his campaign, ...

Basil Fernando People who live through long periods of repression often develop psychological and cultural habits that lead them to pretend not to see or hear what is going on around them in their soc...

Basil Fernando The basic premise of Frank de Silva’s article ‘Proposed change to criminal law – now withdrawn’ which appeared in the Island newspaper recently is summed up in the following pa...

By Basil Fernando After the election of the new government, Sri Lanka’s foreign policy has been to show positive attitudes towards the protection and promotion of human rights. In international foru...

The Asian Legal Resource Centre wishes to inform you that ALRC along with its partners Janasansadaya, Sri Lanka; Human Rights Office, Sri Lanka; Right to Life, Sri Lanka; Gampaha Citizen’s Committee...

Basil Fernando Kadireshan Ravishankar, 34 was severely tortured by the HQI and other officers of the Hatton police station merely for failing to provide a haircut immediately on his order a couple of ...

Basil Fernando A new dimension was added to the debate on the proposed amendment to the criminal procedure code when the Minister of Justice attempted to defend the amendment on the basis that it is r...

The Asian Human Rights Commission is pleased to witness the historic coming into being of Sri Lanka’s Right to Information (RTI) Commission with three Commissioners being appointed by President Mait...

The hasty passing of laws and emergency regulations particularly with the intention of encouraging law enforcement officers to commit acts which amounts to serious crimes is not an unfamiliar practice...

By Basil Fernando One more judgement from the Supreme Court, on torture by the Sri Lankan police, was added to a long list of such judgements, when the Supreme Court decided in favour of a petition fi...

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Raviraj Kavichandran a resident of Pussellawa had according to the police, allegedly committed suicide by hanging h...

An article titled “The OMP – A Flawed Attempt to Deal with Complaints of Disappearances and/or Missing Persons in Sri Lanka” published in the Colombo Telegraph, by M.C.M Iqbal, forwarded by the...

Kaviratne Raviraj, 30 years old, arrested and taken to the Pussellawa police station by some plain clothed police officers and was later pronounced dead upon admission to the Pussellawa Hospital. Acco...

Gayashan still remains missing following police detention at the Hambanthota Police Station Thanks to media interest, the matter is being discussed all over the country. The Inspector General of Polic...

Written Statement on the OMP Act by Amnesty International as well as two important Reflections on Transitional Justice in Sri Lanka: We reproduce below the three important interventions relating to th...

We reproduce below the content of the letter written to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Justice by the AHRC. 13th September 2016 Objection to the designation of Mr. Yasantha Kodagoda, Deputy Soli...

By Basil Fernando For a week, the media reported that a boy who was last seen at a police station had ‘disappeared’. Everyone knows that this word is a euphemism for murder. Somehow, it is less di...

12th September 2016 Mr. Pujith Jayasundara  Inspector General of Police  New Secretariat  Colombo 1, Sri Lanka Dear Mr Jayasundara, The disappearance of Gayashan requires an inquiry by the Criminal...