Statement

Unidentified assailants shot dead a High Court judge in Colombo on Friday, 12 November 2004. This is the first such instance in recent times, despite the fact that High Courts in Sri Lanka hear the most serious of crimes. The killing of this judge had been preceded by numerous death threats, including threatening telephone calls. […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) today extends its deepest sympathies to the families of Colombo High Court Judge Sarath Ambepitiya and his bodyguard Inspector Upali Bandara, as well as the people of Sri Lanka. The judge and police officer were murdered yesterday, November 19, outside the judge’s house. The killing was as shocking as […]

Many key questions remain to be answered after the mass killing in the south of Thailand on October 25. Above them all, what is the public prosecutor doing about this case? Under section 148 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Thailand, when there is a death in custody, the rights of the victim are upheld […]

Numerous torture victims, their families and other witnesses have reported being threatened with death or other violence due to persisting with their complaints against initial injuries. In most instances, the victims and their families are harassed by the police against whom complaints are filed. The law in Sri Lanka does not provide any avenues for […]

A new trade union comprised of staff of the Human Rights Commission (HRC) of Sri Lanka has organised a strike on today, November 1, to oppose the transfer of the Kandy Area Coordinator, Mr Niranjan Sumanasekara. The chairperson of the HRC, Radhika Coomaraswamy, made the decision to transfer the area coordinator after a one-man committee […]

As details emerge about what happened in Narathiwat province of southern Thailand this October 25, extremely serious questions must now be asked. The first key question is how is it possible that so many persons could have died from suffocation in army vehicles? According to Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand, deputy director of the Forensic Science Institute, […]

The latest mass killing in the south of Thailand is a direct consequence of the intentional and dramatic weakening of controls over the police and armed forces there in the last two years. Despite alarms being raised from numerous quarters, the government of Thailand has blatantly ignored the signs of impending disaster. Not only the […]

The manner in which inquiries are conducted by the Human Rights Commission (HRC) of Sri Lanka and particularly about the functioning of the Kandy Area Office including the conduct of the coordinator of that office, Mr. Sumanasekara, have been a source of concern for the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) for quite some time. The […]

A fatal traffic accident in the jurisdiction of Wellawaya Magistrate’s Court, Sri Lanka, has caused a lot of public confusion. It all started with an important question: who caused the accident? Media reports inform us that some family members of the deceased have accused a Senior Superintendent of Police, not the constable who has been […]

With the expiry of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Punishment and Control) Act — 2058 this 12 October 2004, His Majesty’s Government of Nepal has introduced a more severe and draconian version of the same law in its stead: the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Control and Punishment) Ordinance — 2061. Clause 9 of the latest […]

The obstacles to eliminating torture in Bangladesh were foremost in the discussion at a recent meeting in Dhaka organised by Odhikar, a well-known national human rights organisation. There was consensus that grave torture exists throughout the country and that its causes are systemic: these include the following.   Torture is not a crime under national […]

The journey from section 374 to section 500 of the Burmese Penal Code doesn’t take very long. Under section 374, state officials ordering forced labour–which was finally prohibited in 1999–can be subject to complaints in the courts. In principle, an impartial and independent investigation and judicial inquiry should follow. In reality, no impartial and independent […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) demands the immediate release from police detention of a group of human rights defenders in Tamil Nadu, India, who have been detained without charge since this morning.   The group, headed by Mr. Henri Tiphagne, director of People’s Watch–Tamil Nadu, was detained while engaged in a routine training programme […]

The Officer-in-Charge of the Jaffna office of the Human Rights Commission (HRC) of Sri Lanka and a UN volunteer were assaulted yesterday, September 27, 2004, as they were engaged in inquiring about a complaint of torture at the Jaffna Police Station. In an interview to the Sinhala Service of the BBC, Sandeshaya, the HRC officer […]

On 21 September 2004 Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations, addressed the General Assembly emphasising the primacy of the rule of law over all other factors governing global affairs, be they international or domestic in scope. In particular, he observed that: “We must start from the principle that no one is above the […]

In a statement of September 6, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has asked, “What can be done when there are not enough criminal investigators in Sri Lanka?” A concomitant question is, what is the cost of crime control and torture prevention? What crime control and torture prevention require is not rhetoric but investment. The […]

The lack of qualified criminal investigators hampers the criminal investigations in Sri Lanka, C.R. de Silva, the Solicitor General of Sri Lanka was quoted as saying in an interview with the BBC Sinhala Service Sandeshaya on Sunday, 5 September 2004. What the Solicitor General said on this occasion is what all spokesmen for government agencies, […]

On Monday, September 6, Supinya Klangnarong will go to court on a charge of criminal defamation arising from an interview printed in the Thai Post newspaper last year; three of its editors are also subject to legal action. In the interview, Supinya pointed out how the profits of media conglomerate Shin Corp have increased enormously […]

Court takes historic step towards restoring independence of judiciary in Malaysia  The decision of Malaysia’s highest court to acquit Anwar Ibrahim, the former deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia from all charges marks an important moment in the political and legal history of the country.  Anwar Ibrahim became the symbol manifesting an acute crisis in Malaysia […]

In recent weeks some senior politicians from the government of Sri Lanka have tried to blame the increase in crime on the National Police Commission (NPC). In fact no link between the NPC and the increase in crime has in any way been established. On the contrary, there is widespread consensus that the decreased violence […]