Administration of justice

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission has received information that a couple have been declared ‘Karo-Kari’ and sentenced to death by an illegal tribal court, but cannot get protection or redress from the Pakistan authorities. The tribal court was allegedly chaired by the bride’s uncle, a policeman, and includes her father, who is also […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) previously issued an appeal on the case of Dr. Wint Thu and eight others who in December 2009 were given long jail terms for alleged offences against the state. They were reportedly tortured into giving confessions that the police used in court. In this update we bring […]

May 14, 2010. Reporters Without Borders voiced its dismay today after journalist Ghulam Rasool Birhamani was found dead in Sindh province in the south-east of the country on 10 May 2010.  Several journalists in the region told the worldwide press freedom organisation that they believed his death could have been linked to an article he […]

Danilo Reyes The story of two elderly farmers, Marilyn Lanotes, of Hacienda Tres Hermanos and Uldarico Nalipay, of Hacienda Manuela, both in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, are just two of the many examples that can illustrate the inequality before the law between farmers and landowners and how the application of the law is abused to […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that another case of police brutality in Sri Lanka has yet to be investigated by the authorities. It involves the beating of a man by a large group of officers at Polpithigama police station when he tried to visit his cousins after their arrest. The […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to inform you of another raft of charges against a journalist in Burma who was sentenced to a long prison sentence and whose appeal against imprisonment has so far been unsuccessful. Young journalist Ma Hla Hla Win appealed at the end of April against her 27-year […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about an illegal arrest and assault by Panadura North police. A man was dragged from his house early in the morning without being shown a warrant or informed of the complaint against him and was beaten unconscious. Although the hospital arranged for a report […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned about the conduct of Trincomalee police officers following a police shooting. The victim was allegedly shot at his home during a botched arrest attempt and died in hospital shortly after. According to witnesses police did not follow police any form of procedure, delayed the […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you that, as anticipated, a human rights defender in Burma was imprisoned again last week. She was originally jailed because of complaints she made against local officials and has now been imprisoned with her husband under the same charges, after appearing before the same […]

We have cautiously welcomed the announcement by the Presidential Media Unit about the appointment of a commission of inquiry into the recent conflict from the perspective of restorative justice. In our second statement we have also indicated other experiences where credible attempts have been made into the study of past wrongdoings with the idea of […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about two killings that took place during a police operation in Aceh. The men died after police arrested them and took them to an area that they believed was being used by an armed group. Both detainees were unarmed and in custody but were […]

The AHRC cautiously welcomes the announcement of the appointment of a commission to probe violations of internationally accepted norms of conduct during the final stages of the conflict and the circumstances that may have led to such actions and identify any persons or groups responsible for such acts. Despite of the fact that the obvious […]

The democratic transition in Indonesia is still hampered by a number of government policies. Civil supremacy, law enforcement and human rights are not priority issues for the government in drafting these policies. This is true even of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s administration, even though it is considered reformist. There has been no resolution to many […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information concerning the case of 84-year-old Mr. Masaru Okunishi, who has been detained on Japan’s infamous death row for the past 41 years. Okunishi was accused of murder in 1961 and acquitted by the trial court in 1964 yet was sentenced to capital punishment […]

Lahore, April 28, 2010: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) condemns the target killing of Nazima Talib, a university teacher in Quetta, capital of Balochistan province, and calls upon the government to provide adequate security to vulnerable academic staff across Balochistan and bring the perpetrators of the crime to justice. Human Rights Commission of […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about another ‘encounter’ killing by Manipur security personnel that bears all the signs of being an extrajudicial execution. The man was abducted, unarmed, in front of his family, his house was searched and his were valuables stolen, although the incident report claimed that a […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is extremely concerned for the welfare of a young man who was badly beaten along with his family, then abducted illegally by soldiers. A former employer who owes him money was seen directing his abduction. Although police were able to find him, intervene and provide medical treatment, […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information concerning yet another case of abduction and extrajudicial execution in Manipur. After unidentified persons were seen abducting a man in April, the local police reported having killed him in an armed encounter later that evening. Given the widespread pattern of extrajudicial executions in the […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has gathered detailed information on the escalating harassment of criminal witness Saman Thialakasir by police before his murder in February. He was found dead the morning after he was picked up by officers. Saman had reported a case of illegal logging in his neighbourhood with suspected connections […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that police and officials are refusing to respond to the abduction of a fifteen-year-old Hindu girl by a neighbour in December last year. Her parents found her captive in a Muslim seminary and were told that she was married and had converted to Islam. The […]