Arbitrary arrest & detention

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed that the Detective Branch (DB) police of Dinajpur district fabricated evidence and arbitrarily arrested a homeopathic doctor in relation to the seizure of unauthorized goods. The victim was detained in custody for seven days following a case lodged with the Kotwali police station by […]

[RE: UP-011-2006: NEPAL: Further arrests occur in Nepal’s escalating crisis; UA-036-2006: NEPAL: Further arrests in Nepal’s worsening political, security and human rights crisis; UG-002-2006: NEPAL: Immediate intervention required in Nepal’s deepening political, security and human rights crisis] ———————————————————————- UP-012-2006: NEPAL: Widespread repression and mass arrests continue to take place in Nepal NEPAL: Human rights defenders; […]

[RE:UA-036-2006: NEPAL: Further arrests in Nepal’s worsening political, security and human rights crisis; UG-002-2006: NEPAL: Immediate intervention required in Nepal’s deepening political, security and human rights crisis] ———————————————————————- UP-011-2006: NEPAL: Further arrests occur in Nepal’s escalating crisis NEPAL: Human rights defenders; Democracy; Freedom of assembly; Freedom of speech; Free and fair elections; Arbitrary arrest and […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned of further human rights violations, notably beatings and arbitrary detentions, in relation to the ongoing suppression of the democratic movement in Nepal. In order to quell rallies planned for 20 January 2006, the authorities last week enforced curfews and a total ban on demonstrations, particularly […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed of the arrest of over 100 political leaders and human rights activists earlier today, January 19, 2006, in a serious development in the deteriorating human rights situation in Nepal. Reports indicate that the homes of a number of prominent human rights defenders have also been visited […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that four police officers, including a Sub Inspector of Police, have been arrested regarding the murder of Lalantha Fernando. (To see full details of this case please refer to UA-191-2005). Lalantha Fernando was abducted from his house on 10 October 2005 and brutally assaulted […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission has been informed by a reliable source that two girls, aged 12 and 15, and five other detainees were arrested on 26 November 2005 by the Nepalese army on allegations of being involved in ‘terrorist activities.’ They have been detained incommunicado until December 15, 2005, when a human […]

The past two weeks saw Hong Kong become a theatre in which the conflict between free trade and human rights played out very visibly, with broadcast and other media conveying the interventions of all those involved in this conflict: namely, those inside the World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial conference, and those outside on the streets.  […]

The brutality and inhuman treatment of the protestors against the World Trade Organisation (WTO) by the Hong Kong police comes as a shock and must immediately be stopped. On December 17, 2005 unarmed protesters attempted to enter the Hong Kong Convention Centre, where the WTO ministerial conference is being held. The response of the police […]

The authorities in Nepal have once again illustrated their complete disregard for human rights, by arresting over 130 activists taking part in peaceful demonstrations on International Human Rights Day, December 10th, 2005. Thankfully, all of the protestors, who were engaged in a peaceful march in favour of the restoration of peace and democracy, have now […]

[RE: UA-183-2005: SRI LANKA: Rape of a female passenger by the airport officers inside of the Bandaranayake International Airport; UP-127-2005: Main suspect identified in alleged rape incident at Bandaranayake International Airport] Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission is deeply concerned by alleged death threats made against a female passenger who was allegedly raped by […]

[RE: UP-43-2005: SAUDI ARABIA/SRI LANKA: Questions remain in Sri Lanka’s willingness to save three of its citizens; UP-39-2005: Three Sri Lankans face imminent execution in Saudi Arabia; UP-38-2005: SAUDI ARABIA/SRI LANKA: Please send a letter to the King of Saudi Arabia urging his intervention to commute the death sentence of three Sri Lankans; UP-34-2005: Death […]

SRI LANKA: Brutal torture; arbitrary arrest and detention; fabricated charges; threat and intimidation —————————————————— Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the brutal torture of a man by the Poddala Police in what appears to be a case instigated by a private party in return for favours to the police. […]

[RE: UA-112-2004: BURMA: Complaints against forced labour blocked and victims punished issued on 3 September 2004; UP-11-2005: BURMA: Four officials sentenced to prison for forced labour in Kawmhu Township, Yangon Division; UP-63-2005: BURMA: Local officials seek revenge against villager who obtained first successful forced labour prosecution; UP-68-2005: BURMA: Preliminary hearing against villager who obtained first […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that the four farmers illegally arrested in Columbio, Sultan Kudarat province, Mindanao on 2 September 2005 by combined elements of the 25th and 66th Infantry Battalion (IB), Philippine Army were allegedly tortured during an investigation. It was reported that one of the victims, […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from People’s Watch – Tamil Nadu, a human rights organistion in Tamil Nadu, India, regarding Tamil prisoners languishing in jails in the Maldives who have allegedly been brutally assaulted, harassed, humiliated, ill-treated and tortured by the jail authorities there. Specifically the information refers to […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that two student activists were arbitrarily arrested, detained and tortured by the Kalimati police in Kathmandu on 13 and 14 September 2005. One of the two students, Shiv Bohora (23), the acting president of the Nepal Students Union at Mahendra Ratna Campus, fell unconscious […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information through its local partner MASUM in West Bengal that Mr. Gopen Sharma, a human rights activist was illegally detained, threatened and assaulted by the officers at the Block Development Office in Jalangi, Murshidabad District, West Bengal. Mr. Sharma was, at the time of the […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the opposition party leader Mohammed Nasheed, who is the chairperson of the Maldivian Democratic Party(MDP), was arbitrarily arrested by the police in Male, Maldives on 12 August 2005. He was later charged with sedition and terrorism under very suspicious circumstances and is currently […]

The recent assault and detention of the Maldives’ opposition party leader is indicative of the disturbing use of authoritarian powers by the government to suppress calls for democratic reform. Mohammed Nasheed was detained on August 12, 2005 in Male, together with Ahmed Abbas and some other persons. The two activists had been holding a silent […]