Press Release

(Hong Kong, June 17, 2008) Marking their twelfth year in jail, the Abadilla Five writes pleading for “compassion and help” to a known Filipino Catholic priest and others expressing concerns for the delay of their case. In a signed letter dated June 13 to Fr. Roberto Reyes, the prisoners “recognize the sacrifices and efforts you […]

(Hong Kong, June 12, 2008) The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has today launched an online petition to urge the prime minister of Cambodia to end land grabbing for development projects or other purposes, which has already caused and which is likely to cause tremendous suffering to hundreds of thousands of Cambodian people.  These people […]

(Hong Kong, June 12, 2008) Twelve years ago tomorrow, Colonel Rolando Abadilla, an influential police colonel during the regime of late President Ferdinand Marcos, was murdered. His murder resulted in the arrest of five men now known as the Abadilla Five, who through the years have persisted in challenging their conviction for his murder in […]

(Hong Kong, May 26, 2008) The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has launched today a campaign blog which documents cases involving various forms of arbitrary deprivation of life in the Philippines. The blog entitled ‘Slaughter of Innocents’ chronicles how a class of people have been systematically murdered on an almost daily basis. The blog may […]

UN Vote Upholds Council Membership Standards on Rights (New York, May 21, 2008) – UN member states enforced the standards they established for the new Human Rights Council by not re-electing Sri Lanka to the body today. Domestic and international human rights advocates who had opposed Sri Lanka’s re-election to the council said the vote […]

(Hong Kong, May 23, 2008) A lawyer in Burma has been awarded a prestigious European human rights award in recognition of his struggle for labour rights under extremely adverse conditions. U Aye Myint, who has set up a legal aid group in Burma to handle cases of forced labour, illegal land confiscation and workers’ rights, […]

(Hong Kong, May 13, 2008) The lawyers for the Abadilla Five, have invoked, as addendums to their Petition for Review on Certiorari, a decision by the United Nation Human Rights Committee, finding the government as responsible for violating their clients’ right for unduly delaying their case. The Committee’s decision, which was adopted on March 20, […]

(Hong Kong, May 5, 2008) The legal counsels of the Abadilla Five has filed today a Petition for Review before the Supreme Court (SC) seeking to declare as “null and void” a decision by the Court of Appeals (CA) affirming their clients’ conviction. On April 1, the CA has affirmed the eight-year old decision by […]

(Hong Kong, April 9, 2008) The Asian Human Rights Commission has written to the Attorney General of Sri Lanka requesting him to appeal against the judgement of the Negombo High Court delivered on 2nd April acquitting the six accused who were part of a special team working under an Assistant Superintendent of Police and who […]

(Hong Kong, March 27, 2008) The Asian Human Rights Commission on Wednesday has sought the intervention of a Catholic bishop in the case of an ailing detainee, one of the Abadilla Five, who fears for his life due to the inability of the authorities to provide medical assistance. Basil Fernando, AHRC executive director, had asked […]

(Hong Kong, March 12, 2008) The wife of abducted Thai human rights lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit on Tuesday spoke to the United Nations about his continued disappearance, and presented a report on torture, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention and other serious abuses in southern Thailand. Angkhana Neelaphaijit, who is the chairperson of the Working Group on Justice […]

(Hong Kong, March 11, 2008) The Asian Human Rights Commission has written to the UN Rapporteur on Torture seeking his intervention regarding several Sri Lankan journalists after receiving reliable information that they are being detained at the Terrorism Investigation Division in Colombo where several of them are said to have been tortured. None of them […]

(Hong Kong, March 4, 2008) The Asian Human Rights Commission on Tuesday launched a blog campaign to raise debate on the appointment of new members to Thailand’s national human rights body. The Hong Kong-based regional rights group started the blog alarmed at a lack of public discussion about the appointing of new members to the […]

(Hong Kong, February 28, 2008) The Asian Legal Resource Centre has recently submitted six separate country reports for consideration by the United Nations’ Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process. These include reports on India, Indonesia and the Philippines, which will be under consideration during a working group of the UPR between April 7 […]

(Hong Kong, February 22, 2008) The wife of abducted human rights lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit and three victims of police torture on Friday told investigators that they have “no confidence” to pursue cases against the police without continued protection.  The four have been informed that from the end of this month the Department of Special Investigation […]

(Hong Kong, January 30, 2008) Hundreds of people from around the world are signing a petition demanding that the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) be kept independent. “Many people in the world are shocked and concerned that the incoming president wants to take control of the National Human Rights Commission, which must be […]

(Hong Kong, January 29, 2008) A Sri Lankan police witness who went back on previous evidence given in court concerning the killing of a torture victim in Colombo was on Friday himself put in custody. Under cross-examination, T A L Jayashantha, a police officer, admitted that he had earlier given false evidence in court, contrary […]

(Hong Kong, January 22, 2008) The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) today is calling upon the justice of an appellate court reviewing the sentences of five prisoners to make his decision before he retires. The prisoners have been in jail for a decade. Eight justices were earlier designated to review the sentence; however, the mandatory […]

(Hong Kong, January 10, 2008) “Sri Lanka needs a popular mass movement which is not affiliated to any political parties to fight against lawlessness and to re-establish the rule of law” said Mr. J.C. Weliamuna, a lawyer who also heads Transparency International Sri Lanka, while attending a meeting in Hong Kong of a group of […]

(Geneva, December 12, 2007) The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) on Wednesday called on the United Nations to establish a special study and strategy group to deal comprehensively with the growing human rights problems in Burma, while the UN’s special expert on the country called on the government to make some concessions. Speaking at the […]