Press Release

(Hong Kong, December 10, 2007) Resurgent military authoritarianism has greatly undermined the rule of law and human rights in Thailand, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) said on Monday. In its annual report on human rights conditions in Thailand released to coincide with International Human Rights Day, December 10, the Hong Kong-based regional rights group […]

(Hong Kong, December 6, 2007) International organisations and human rights groups need to better study Burma’s “demented” courts, police and local councils to understand how they operate to support its military regime if they are to contribute to meaningful discussion on systemic issues there, the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) said in a new report […]

(Hong Kong, December 5, 2007) Baseer Naveed, senior researcher for South Asia for the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), is the recipient of the 2007 Housing Rights Defender Award presented annually by the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) in Geneva, Switzerland. In addition to the Housing Rights Defender Award, COHRE is also presenting […]

(Hong Kong, November 21, 2007) The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) urges upon the government of Pakistan to disclose the names of judges, lawyers, journalists, human rights activists and political workers that are continuing to be detained under the emergency rule. On Tuesday, the government announced they have already released thousands of lawyers, activists and […]

(Hong Kong, November 19, 2007 Sr. Amithreni, a Tamil Catholic nun has sought assistance from the state authorities and human rights groups against threats of abduction as she has received many threatening calls and has reason to believe that she is being followed by some unknown persons. According to a letter issued by Sr. Amithreni […]

(Hong Kong, November 14, 2007) Allegations that the government of Pakistan used its intelligence service to make sex videos with which to blackmail judges indicate that General Pervez Musharraf “will stoop to any low” to keep hold of power, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) said on Wednesday. The Sunday Times of London on Sunday […]

(Hong Kong, October 31, 2007) Three courts in southern Thailand on Tuesday ruled that the authorities could not hold hundreds of men in vocational training camps there against their will, thus upholding landmark illegal detention petitions lodged by the families at the start of October. The petitions, under section 90 of the Criminal Procedure Code, […]

(Hong Kong, October 23, 2007) A group of lawyers have released a primer on the writ of amparo, a new rule adopted by the Supreme Court that grants relief to those whose right to life has been violated or threatened. The rule takes effect tomorrow, October 24. The Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG), a group […]

(Hong Kong, October 22, 2007) The Asian Human Rights Commission has published a new book entitled ‘Sri Lanka’s Dysfunctional Criminal Justice System.’ The book consists of four chapters, three written by Basil Fernando and another by Kishali Pinto Jayawardene. The book was edited by Jasmine Joseph of the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, […]

BURMA: Webpage launched for jailed “Hinthada 6” (Hong Kong, October 16, 2007) The Asian Human Rights Commission on Tuesday launched a new webpage on the case of six jailed human rights defenders in Burma. The six farmers from Hinthada, in the delta region, west of Rangoon, were jailed for four to eight years in July […]

(Hong Kong, October 12, 2007) According to the law firm Kateb Fahad Al-Shammari, the appeal filed on behalf of Ms. Rizana Nafeek who was sentenced to capital punishment by a Saudi Court is still pending and it will take some time before the appeal is heard. The firm is representing Ms. Rizana in the appeal. […]

(Hong Kong, October 4, 2007) A Filipino priest in Hong Kong found a new way to observe a Catholic holy day on Thursday by having his head shaved to show solidarity with Burma’s Buddhist monks. Fr. Robert Reyes had his head shaved outside the legislative assembly in the city centre to mark the feast for […]

(Hong Kong, October 3, 2007) A group of bloggers has declared an international day calling for peaceful political change in Burma. The Free Burma! bloggers group has proposed the International Bloggers’ Day for Burma on October 4 to “show our sympathy for these people [in Burma] who are fighting their cruel regime without weapons”, according […]

(Hong Kong, September 29, 2007) Protests against the military junta in Burma over its suppression of pro-democracy protestors and monks in recent days continued in Hong Kong and other parts of Asia on Friday and Saturday. On Friday night, around 300 persons gathered outside the Legislative Council building in the heart of Hong Kong for […]

(Hong Kong, September 29, 2007) Members of Burma’s junta may try to move vast sums of capital out of the country, pushing the country deeper into crisis, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) director warned on Saturday. “There is a serious risk the generals may try to move much of their ill-gotten wealth abroad,” the […]

BURMA: Lawyers, monks determined to defy “forced politics” (Hong Kong, September 26, 2007) Lawyers in Burma on Tuesday established a new union to introduce “genuine politics” to the country and defy what they called the regime’s “forced politics” as protests continued for a tenth day despite harsh warnings in the media and through loudspeakers on […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward you the following press release dated September 24, 2007, regarding the Commemoration of Semanggi II from the Commission for the Disappearances and Victims of Violence (KontraS) Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong —————– Semanggi II happened on 24 September 1999 in which the political […]

(Hong Kong, September 20, 2007) The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) on Thursday urged the Buddhist community worldwide to join with monks in Burma and boycott anybody from or associated with its military regime. “We urge the honourable members of the Sangha (Buddhist community) everywhere to follow the example set by their counterparts in Burma […]

(Hong Kong, September 16, 2007) Twenty one participants from nine Asian countries will meet in Hong Kong from 17th to 21st September to discuss the problems of delays in adjudication and the implications of such delays on the administration of justice and the protection and promotion of human rights. “This is the very first international […]

(Hong Kong, August 31, 2007) The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) on Friday launched a new webpage and began petitioning individual governments on the recent dramatic protests against fuel price increases in Burma. The Hong Kong-based regional rights group is sending letters and information packets to diplomatic missions throughout the territory calling for much stronger […]