Administration of justice

NEPAL: A young woman is tortured under interrogation at the Dolakha District Police Office

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that a woman in her twenties was illegally arrested, strung up in a police station and badly beaten for a number of hours after she refused to wrongly identify persons in a theft investigation. Dolakha district police have since charged her with the crime, and […]

SRI LANKA: Baduraliya police illegally arrest and torture a man

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that a man was illegally arrested in Kalutara by Baduraliya police, and tortured severely in the police barracks to force a confession. Police used the ‘Dharma Chakra’ technique of suspending the handcuffed man on a pole that was inserted into the crooks of his bound […]

HONG KONG: The Asian Human Rights Award for Creative Media to Ms. Josefina Bergsten, director and producer of UNJUST

(Hong Kong, July 23, 2010) The Asian Human Rights Commission announces the presentation of the Asian Human Rights Award for Creative Media to Ms. Josefina Bergsten as the producer and the director of the documentary UNJUST. The Presentation of the award will take place at Foreign Correspondents Club, Hong Kong, on the 27th July, 2010.  […]

SRI LANKA: Two men are beaten and tortured with leeches by Matugama police; one faces fabricated charges

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the unlawful arrest and torture of a farmer by Mathugama police. The man was falsely accused of selling illicit liquor and was tortured during arrest, along with another man, in a vegetable pit filled with leeches. The police have reportedly fabricated charges against […]

PAKISTAN: A court fails to arrest a fugitive police chief

Rana Maqbool Ahmed is a former Inspector General of Police of Sindh province and has been accused of the torture of and conspiracy to kill President Zadari when he was imprisoned in 1999. Rana has been absconding court and the Additional District Sessions Court, Karachi, capital of Sindh province, has issued a warrant for his […]

THAILAND:Stop Repression; Release Thai Political Prisoners; Restoring Justice, Peace, Security, and Democracy to Thailand

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward to you the following open letter from the Union for Thai Democracy to the United Nations. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ——- An Open Letter from the Union for Thai Democracy forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-moon […]

SOUTH KOREA: The livelihoods of elderly market tenants are in danger due to administrative neglect

More than 50 elderly tenants have struggled to protect their right to livelihood since being evicted on April 30, 2010. All of them were tenants of the Gocheck traditional business market and are currently protesting in front of Guro-gu administration office where many of them, being aged between 50 and 80, face health risks. The […]

SRI LANKA: An officer assaults a witness to police violence outside his home; no investigation is taken up

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that a man in his late forties was beaten by a policeman with a pole after he witnessed a group of officers assaulting handcuffed men outside his house. His hand is broken and his livelihood has been affected, but his complaint against the policeman is […]

UPDATE (Sri Lanka): The trial of a three-wheeler driver lags; his allegations of torture are not investigated

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission would like to report that the case of a three-wheeler taxi driver charged with carrying drugs – which he claims were found in the possession of his passengers – is being continually stalled by police in the Maligakanda Magistrate’s court. The man remains in remand, unable to afford […]

PAKISTAN: The brother of a rape victim has been found murdered three months after his arrest

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission has received information that the body of a young man has been found three months after his arrest in the midst of a campaign for legal redress for his sister, who was gang raped in 2007. Sabir Soomro supported his teenage sister throughout a badly and unprofessionally tried […]

THAILAND: Calls for observing the preliminary hearing on the case of Imam Yapa Kaseng

The Provincial Court of Narathiwat set the preliminary hearing on the case of Imam Yapha Kaseng at 09.00am on 2 September 2010 To determine if the case of the alleged torture to death of the Imam while under official custody is actionable or not On 18 June 2010, the Provincial Court of Narathiwat scheduled the […]

INDIA: Groundbreaking court cases on maternal mortality

In a historic decision the Delhi High Court ordered compensation for violation of constitutional and reproductive rights of two impoverished women. The judgment will have immense health policy implications in India, where a maternal death occurs every five minutes. In the case of Laxmi Mandal vs Deen Dayal Hari Nager Hospital & Ors W.P. 8853/2008 […]

UPDATE (Sri Lanka): A magistrate neglects an exhumation request for six months in a case of suspicious death

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission is extremely concerned that, more than eight months since the mysterious death of a 24-year-old woman, no investigation has been opened, and requests to exhume the body for a post mortem have not been entertained. The young woman’s underprivileged mother has repeatedly appealed to the authorities to have […]

UPDATE (Sri Lanka): Progress is made in a case of judicial and police corruption

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission is pleased to report strong progress in the complaint of a road accident victim, whose case was wilfully mishandled by police and a judge. The judge allowed himself to be misled by police officers and when the victim complained, he closed the case. This is now being thoroughly […]

ASIA: Women’s views on prevention of torture — Interview 8

An interview conducted by the Asian Human Rights Commission. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the AHRC. Sri Lanka — A woman speaks out against bad policing and torture Sister M. Pradeepa, 34, is from Trincomalee and works at the Ampitiya Convent in Kandy where she is involved with various projects involving […]

INDIA: Country celebrates the 61st day of successful oppression in Manipur

Statement | India | 11-06-2010

Today, the Union Home Ministry, the Chief Ministers of Manipur and Nagaland and a handful of Naga and Meitei nationalists are celebrating the 61st day of their successful enforcement of an indefinite economic blockade organised against the ordinary people living in Manipur state. In tribute to the strenuous effort of the All Naga Students Association […]

SRI LANKA: A man is badly beaten by Kolonna police officers but denied a judicial remedy

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received a detailed report from a victim of torture on a string of violent violations committed by Kolonna police, both in the police station and a nearby hospital. His case comprehensively illustrates the lack of discipline or accountability in many areas of the policing system in […]

SRI LANKA: Panadura North Police mislead the judiciary and detain a man for forty days

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about an arbitrary arrest, faulty police procedure and fabricated charges by the Panadura North police. The case highlights the way in which a person with a criminal conviction, once in the sight of police, can become a convenient target for fabricated charges in other […]

INDONESIA: Where questions can lead to convictions

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following article from The Jakarta Post. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- An article from Elaine Pearson (HRW) published in The Jakarta Post forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission INDONESIA: Where questions can lead to convictions Elaine Pearson, The Jakarta Post, June 5, 2010 […]

INDIA: Bhopal judgment symbolises decayed justice in a deficient democracy

Statement | India | 08-06-2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AHRC-STM-096-2010 June 8, 2010 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission INDIA: Bhopal judgment symbolises decayed justice in a deficient democracy The recent judgment delivered by a court in the Bhopal Gas disaster case convicting all the seven accused could have been a welcome one and could have gone a long […]