Urgent Appeal Update

PHILIPPINES: A labor leader object of threats and fellow workers shot at while holding a protest

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that a labour leader, threatened in 2005 and 2006, has been shot at, while he and his colleagues, some 100 plantation workers were holding a protest in front of their employer’s home. UPDATED INFORMATION: (Based on the information received from Kilusang Mayo Uno –KMU-):  […]

CAMBODIA: Two of 23 detainees released on bail

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that two of the 23 detainees, one of whom is a minor, were released on bail on February 8. The AHRC welcomes the granting of bail and the release of these detainees; however, it notes with apprehension that 21 others remain in detention. […]

NEPAL: State remains unresponsive to the missing person Chhori Maiya Maharjan, and her family wants to know where she is

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information on the missing person’s case of Chhori Maiya Maharjan. The Kathmandu District Court again postponed the final hearing of Chhori Maiya. Chhori Maiya went missing on February 28 2012 after she left her Jaisideval-based house to meet Surakshya Singh alias Nikki at Baneshwor, […]

INDONESIA: Jakarta court’s conviction on two street singers is a miscarriage of justice

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information on the case of torture against six street singers in Jakarta, who were charged with murder in June 2013. Two of them, Andro Supriyanto and Nurdin Prianto, were found guilty and sentenced to 7 years of imprisonment by the South Jakarta District Court […]

BURMA/MYANMAR: Court finds torture victim was killed, but no action taken

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received the updated information that courts and police did not take any action even though they found that U Than Htun’s death, which occurred while detained in police custody in Burma, was not natural. In the post mortem inquiry, the lower courts decided that the death […]

PHILIPPINES: Three tortured and falsely charged activists freed

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is pleased to inform you that the three community organizers whom were reported to have been illegally arrested, tortured, detained and falsely charged in November 2009, have been released after they were exonerated from the charges against them. UPDATED INFORMATION: In our appeal in February 2010 (AHRC-UAC-005-2010), […]

INDONESIA: Jakarta courts sentence innocent teenagers for murder, ignoring torture claims

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information on the torture case of June 2013 of six minors and young adults in Jakarta. As of yet, criminal investigation of their torturers is yet to take place. Four of the six victims have been falsely convicted of murder. The Jakarta courts have […]

PHILIPPINES: An ailing man detained for another man freed today

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is pleased to inform you that an ailing man whom we reported earlier to have been arrested and detained in place of another man wanted for murder will be released today. The police arrested him, not because he was the real suspect, but because he ‘looked the […]

INDIA: Human rights defender Ms Agnes Kharshiing released; struggle for land rights of indigenous people continues

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received communication from Ms. Agnes Kharshiing, President of Civil Society Women’s Organisation (CSWO), regarding her arrest, denial of bail, and subsequent release. She was arrested on 8 November 2013 when the Meghalaya Urban Development Authority (MUDA) conducted an eviction drive in the Umsawli area of Shillong […]

PHILIPPINES: Concern over heavy presence of foreign military forces in typhoon affected areas

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received further information from local organizations who are involved in relief efforts in the Visayas. While relief and aid assistance from foreign countries are deeply appreciated, there are concerns over the heavy presence of its military forces, notably the US, which is believed to be disproportionate […]

PHILPPINES: Court hearing of falsely charged activists postponed, again

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that the court hearing of Fernando Obedencio, an activist who has been held for nearly eight years over fabricated charges, is once again postponed indefinitely because of the absence of the judge hearing his case. UPDATED INFORMATION: (Based on the information received from Moro […]

NEPAL: Release of the main suspect in the murder of Krishna Prasad Adhikari

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commision has received updated information that one of the main accused in the murder of Krishna Prasad Adhikari, and the only suspect who has been arrested so far, was released on September 29, 2013. Krishna Prasad Adhikari was abducted and killed by Maoist cadres in 2004 at the heart […]

INDONESIA: Banten High Court reduces punishment for police officers who tortured and shot a man to death

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the torture case of Yusli, who was physically assaulted and shot to death by three police officers in 2011. In March this year, Tangerang District Court sentenced the perpetrators to two to five years imprisonments for maltreatment. However, the AHRC has learned […]

BURMA/MYANMAR: Rapist of child convicted, but inadequate sentence imposed

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is pleased to inform you that a man accused of repeatedly raping a teenage girl in Burma has, despite his efforts to destroy the case, been convicted. However, the court has imposed an inadequate sentence upon him, and activists in the country are calling for a stiffer […]

PHILIPPINES: Police attempt to arrest a falsely charge activist whose arrest order had been cancelled

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that police officers attempted to arrest a labor activist despite a court order revoking the warrant. The policemen went to the victim’s house, harassed his wife and demanded that she disclose his whereabouts. UPDATED INFORMATION (Based on the information received from Tambuli ng Mamamayan […]

PHILIPPINES: Arrest order on activists laid with fabricated charges of murder cancelled

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that one of the two fabricated complaints of murder laid on human rights activists has been cancelled by the court. The court held that the victims were denied due process when they were indicted in court without their knowledge and were not given […]

PAKISTAN: A student leader was extrajudicially killed in a fake encounter conducted by the state intelligence agencies

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the extrajudicial killing of a student leader by persons from the intelligence agencies. A student leader, Afzal Panhwar, who remained in the custody of the security agencies for one year, was again arrested and within some hours he was shot dead by […]

NEPAL: Politicians oppose conflict victims’ fight for justice for Krishna Prasad Adhikari’s murder

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the condition of the parents of Krishna Prasad Adhikari. We issued an Urgent Appeal Case and a follow-up update earlier (For further details, please see our original Urgent Appeal Case and Urgent Appeal Update here: AHRC-UAC-049-2013 and AHRC-UAU-021-2013). Krishna Prasad Adhikari was murdered in 2004 […]

BANGLADESH: Human rights defender Mr. Shahed Kayes, who was abducted and stabbed, requires immediate protection

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information that Mr. Shahed Kayes, who is a leading human rights defender fighting against illegal sand mining in the Meghna River adjacent to the Mayadip and Nunertek islands, was abducted and stabbed on 25 July 2013. The assailants attempted to cut off his left […]

NEPAL: Conflict victims locked into a mental hospital for seeking justice

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the condition of the parents of Krishna Prasad Adhikari about whom we issued an Urgent Appeal Case earlier (For further details, please see: AHRC-UAC-049-2013). Krishna Prasad Adhikari was a young man who was murdered in 2004 in Chitwan by Maoist cadres following a […]