Administration of justice

SRI LANKA: Police block a poor mother’s request for a criminal investigation into the death of her daughter

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received the information that Galle police have refused to register a mother’s complaint about suspicions that her 24-year-old daughter was murdered. The authorities also failed to adequately look into the woman’s concerns that the girl was being put to work by her foster family, years before. […]

PAKISTAN: An army colonel has had four men abducted and tortured due to a personal dispute, in Pakistan-held Kashmir

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that four young men have been illegally arrested, detained and tortured by Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officials because of a minor personal dispute. The first victim was allegedly taken hostage by an ISI colonel so that his uncle would pay a debt, and the other three […]

INDONESIA: Dozens are injured in police attacks during protests against alleged land grabbing

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Right Commission (AHRC) has been informed that the Indonesian police shot at, arrested and intimidated peasants who were protesting against the alleged illegal occupation of their land by a government-owned plantation company. The land workers have been protesting regularly for years, but rather than address their concerns, the local authorities […]

BANGLADESH: Around 30 lower caste families in the Hindu community face eviction in Chittagong

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is concerned about the eviction risk faced by around 300 people of a lower caste Hindu community in Chittagong, without adequate compensation or rehabilitation being arranged. The land will be seized for the government-led Patiya Bypass project, yet the community is very poor and residents have not […]

UPDATE (Sri Lanka): A man is sentenced for the rape of his daughter after a five-year trial

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed that a rape victim for whom we have been campaigning has finally won her case in court, after a judge took particular interest. The victim has been fighting a criminal case against her father for more than five years, during which she has been […]

PHILIPPINES: The Philippine Congress must revoke martial law in Maguindanao province

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is seeking your support in calling upon the members of the Philippine Congress to revoke Proclamation No. 1959, which has been signed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and has declared a state of martial law in Maguindanao. It suspends the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, and […]

SRI LANKA: Police, doctors and magistrates are complicit in a man’s torture

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) brings you case details of a farmer who, while on his way to pick up his child from school, was arbitrarily arrested, faced with fabricated charges and extensively tortured for two days by Galgamuwa police officers, some of whom were allegedly drunk. He was suspended by his […]

PHILIPPINES: Three journalists who survived the Maguindanao massacre fear for their lives

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is closely monitoring the investigation into the massacre in Maguindanao on November 23, which left 57 people dead, among them two human rights lawyers and 30 local journalists. The AHRC is deeply concerned for the safety of three journalists who escaped. More than a week into the […]

INDIA: Encounter killings are exposed as murder in Assam, yet police refuse to investigate

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about the extrajudicial killing of two men by soldiers of the Kumaon Regiment, Assam. The men were reported to have been killed in an encounter incident, but they were in custody and had left notes hidden in their clothing that predicted their murder. The […]

SRI LANKA: A criminal investigation is needed into the paralysis of a man in custody

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed that a man has become critically ill and partially paralysed after time in the custody of Gampola Kuruduwatte police. He is reportedly tied to his bed and under constant guard in hospital, but was in a healthy condition before his arrest. His relatives have […]

PAKISTAN: A university vice chancellor is abducted; authorities prevent an official investigation

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission has learned that twenty days after the abduction of a high profile scientist in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), no official investigation has been held into his disappearance. Political agents in the federally administered tribal area have told the man’s family not to lodge a criminal complaint, […]

SRI LANKA: Nawalapitiya police illegally arrest a man and fabricate evidence against him

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed that police in Nawalapitiya have arbitrarily arrested a man, beaten him and created evidence to use in the framing of charges against him. He will appear before a magistrate on 25 November 2009.  CASE DETAILS:  According to the information we have received, on the […]

UPDATE (Philippines): Four years after his murder a widow is still waiting for the investigation report of her activist husband’s death

Dear Friends,   The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes with deep regrets with regard to the lack of substantial progress in the investigation of the murder of an activist we reported to have been killed on November 28, 2005. His wife has yet to obtain a copy of the official reinvestigation report into his […]

INDIA: Nine months into a case of custodial death, witness statements have still not been taken

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about unnecessary delays in the investigation of a man’s death in custody, following his arrest for a fabricated charge. It has been reported that police officers murdered the shop owner in February last year, however the investigating agency has not even recorded the statements […]

BANGLADESH: Police allow three women to be beaten by a mob during a land dispute

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that police officers allowed a lawyer, her mother and domestic helper to be beaten by a group armed with sticks. The women and their family are being harassed by their neigbours over a land dispute, and a judge has already ruled for the status quo […]

UPDATE (Philippines): The remains of two victims of extra-judicial execution have been stolen

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has just learned that the remains of two persons, believed to have been summarily executed by police officers, have been stolen from their graves. The family of the victims had requested that their bodies be exhumed to collect evidence, but they were told that there was no […]

INDONESIA: Police attack a peaceful demonstration and seriously injure six people

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Right Commission (AHRC) continues to receive reports of violence perpetrated by police officers against peaceful demonstrators. Most recently police officers attacked a demonstration being held by members of the motorcycle taxi community (known as Ojeg) and the Bau–Bau Legal Aid Institute in Bau–Bau City, injuring six protestors. Though an internal […]

UPDATE (Bangladesh): A torture victim is missing after being picked up by police

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information that the Paikgachha police have arrested Mr. Muzibur Rahman, a man who was previously arbitrarily arrested, detained and tortured by the army in Khulna district, and held incommunicado The whereabouts of Mr. Muzibur are unknown. His relatives are afraid that hey may again […]

SRI LANKA: An injured man is beaten by police, illegally detained and denied medical treatment

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that an injured man was severely and randomly beaten by a police officer at Negombo Police Station and then denied medical treatment for more than 24 hours, causing possible permanent nerve damage. He now faces fabricated charges for a robbery. No legal or disciplinary action […]

INDONESIA: The killing of a Papuan at a demonstration remains unpunished

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is concerned that no one has been held accountable for the shooting of indigenous Papuan Mr. Opinus Tabuni over a year ago during an operation by armed forces, and no progress has been seen in the investigation. Mr. Tabuni was shot dead in Wamena during a celebration […]