Arbitrary arrest & detention

SRI LANKA: Illegal arrests and illegal detentions damage the legal system

By Basil Fernando Illegal arrests and illegal detentions do not only harm individuals, they also cause irreparable damage to the legal system as a whole. The recent wave of arrests of those who have participated in peaceful demonstrations has not only caused serious damage to the life and liberty of these individuals but they have […]

SRI LANKA: Journalists and Protesters Face Arrests, Assaults, and Interrogations as Government Fails to Tackle Economic Crisis

The crisis of major magnitude is taking place in Sri Lanka. The world has not yet taken adequate notice of the impact of an economic downturn as a result of the inability of the government to pay the foreign loans as a result of which it is suffering from the worst financial crisis ever faced […]

SRI LANKA: Wild Politics and Brutal Policing

By Basil Fernando Police brutality is very much a normal part of the abnormal way of life that exists in Sri Lanka just as attacks by wild elephants have become an usual part of life for people living in remote villages. How that came about has a history of its own and it is the […]

ASIA: Victims and Litigants Suffer in Absence of Independent Judiciary and Legal Profession

An Oral Statement to the 50th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council from the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) Mr. President The Special Rapporteur’s report has substantively covered the aspects regarding the protection of the lawyers against undue interference and independent exercise of the legal profession. Echoing the Special Rapporteur the Asian Legal […]

BANGLADESH: Victims of Gross Human Rights Abuses are Defenceless in Absence of Judicial Independence

A Written Submission to the 50th Regular Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) wants to update the Human Rights Council of the United Nations about the situation of Bangladesh’s human rights in relation to the mandate of independence of judges and […]

SRI LANKA: The intimidation of Tamil Journalist, Kumanan by the Sri Lanka Navy, and the accelerated land grab by the Navy in Mullaitivu

A Statement from People’s Alliance for Right to Land forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Click Here to See the Original Statement The People’s Alliance for Right to Land (PARL) condemns the intimidation and harassment of Tamil journalist Kumanan Kanapathipillai by the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) and Police. The harassment took place whilst he […]

INDONESIA: 24 Years since the Student Shooting in the Trisakti case: A Human Rights Case Becomes a Political Bargain?

In commemorating the 24th year of the student shooting in Trisakti and Semanggi, and with two years to go before the General Election in 2024, the Minister of the State Owned Company (BUMN), Mr. Erick Thohir appointed the Bank Tabungan Negara (BTN) to provide houses for the four families of the victims of the student […]

SRI LANKA: MPs Letters – A Revival Of A Very Dangerous Practice Facebook Twitter WhatsApp Share

By Basil Fernando  There are many reports in the media that Government Members of Parliament are sending lists to the Police to arrest persons. This habit has been revived after the events of May 9th and the days that followed. Now the media reports that thousands of arrests have been made and that hundreds are […]

SRI LANKA: Suspend PTA immediately – UN Experts tells GOSL

By Basil Fernando  The Sri Lankan delegation to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) suffered a great setback when its promise to amend the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act, No. 48 of 1979 as amended (PTA) was responded to by the 16 UN special experts calling on the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) […]

INDONESIA: 33 Years of Talangsari 1989: Changing Policies That Remain Unfavorable to Victims and Justice

According to various data and information, in the Talangsari massacre, 130 people died, 77 people were forcibly evicted, 53 people experienced the deprivation of liberty and 46 people experienced torture. “The process of resolving the Talangsari massacre has dragged on and the victims have waited too long for legal certainty. On the 33 years of […]

SRI LANKA: Legal and Societal Consequences Arising from the Failure to Deal with Enforced Disappearances

(Issued on 27 October 2021, 31st annual commemoration of the disappeared in Sri Lanka.) A statement on enforced disappearances Every year, on the 27th of October, there is a commemoration of the persons who have been made to disappear by force. The day is called ‘the day of commemoration of the enforced disappearances. On this […]

INDONESIA: Two Human Rights defenders receive warning letters after criticizing the Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-008-2021  September 15, 2021 ——————————————————————— INDONESIA: Two Human Rights defenders receive warning letters after criticizing the Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment. ISSUES: freedom of expression and opinion, access to justice, fair trial —————————————- Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received […]

BANGLADESH: Government Uses Arbitrary Detention and Degenerated Judiciary Against Dissidents

A Written Statement to the 48th Regular Session of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) brings the issue of arbitrary detention and the degenerated justice mechanisms to the United Nations Human Rights Council focusing on the situation in Bangladesh, which is a Member of […]

BANGLADESH: Enforced Disappearances Must Warrant Consequences

A Written Statement to the 48th Regular Session of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) raises the issue of Bangladesh’s rabid enforced disappearances to the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council’s 48th Regular Session. Bangladesh’s incumbent government began using enforced disappearances as one […]

SRI LANKA: UN Human Rights Mechanisms Ought to Explore New Approaches to Protect Rights

For several decades now, the widespread practice of enforced disappearances has been experienced in Sri Lanka in a very large scale Despite many attempts by the UN human rights agencies including the Working Group on Enforced Disappearances, there are hardly any cases where credible investigations or prosecutions have taken place concerning the cases which sometimes […]

BANGLADESH: Pro-government entities create copyright disputes over virtual contents critical of the regime

Governmental repressions continue as Bangladesh keeps curbing the civic space of the people with impunity. The Sheikh Hasina government has systematically using multiple technics and spying technological tools to curb the freedom of expression in online and off-line. The pro-regime cyber-worriers have launched a trend of creating fake copyright disputes over the contents that criticise the government. […]

ශ්‍රී ලංකා: පාදුක්ක පොලීසියේදී අතවරයට පත් කාන්තාවක් ජනාධිපතිතුමාට හා පොලිස්පතිතුමාට කරන අභියාචනය

මෙය https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2Kf1r9dmP8 ඉහත සදහන් සදහන් යූ ටියුබ් නාලිකාවෙන් නැරඹිය හැකිය. ඇයගේ පණිවිඩය ලේඛණ ගත කිරීමක් පහත සදහන් වෙි. මමයි මගේ දරු දෙන්නයි ලොකු දුවයි පොඩි දුවයි මහත්තයයි ගියා පාදුක්ක පොලීසියට පැමිණිල්ලක් දාන්න ඒ ගියේ මගේ පොඩි දෙන්නා වට්ස් ඇප් එකේ වැඩ කරනවා ඔන්ලයින්. මගේ දුවට පිරිමි ළමයෙක් එවලා තිබුනා නිරුවත් ෆොටෝ වගයක්. අපි ඒ පිරිමි […]

SRI LANKA: A Cruel Government Supports Torture by Opposing Preventive Law

An amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure allowing the Magistrates to visit places of detention has been turned into a political issue by a section of the government and by some extreme nationalist elements. What this means is that the opposition to the amendment is supporting the continuous practice of torture in Sri Lanka. […]

MYANMAR: International Community needs decisive actions to end militarism for establishing democracy and human rights

An Oral Statement to the 47th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council from the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) Madam President: As there are profound concerns over the latest military coup in Myanmar and subsequent violence offends the conscience of humanity, the urgent questions before the international community should be what to do […]

ASIA: Arbitrary Detention Continues with Denial of Access to Justice and Increases Poverty

An Oral Statement to the 47th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council from the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) Madam President: The report of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention focusing on drug policies sheds lights on the darker sides of the justice mechanisms of many States. It also indicates the attitudes of […]