Extrajudicial killings

This week Just Asia begins with India, where Shujaat Bukhaari, editor of the newspaper Rising Kashmir, was gunned down outside his office in Srinagar on June 14. A highly respected journalist, Bukhaari was known for his consistent advocacy for peace and dialogue in Kashmir. His assassination, along with that of journalist Gauri Lankesh in Bangalore […]

Sri Lanka Report for 2017 2017 was a decisive year for Sri Lanka, showing what progress had – and hadn’t – been made in the past few years. In January 2015, a new government was elected with a massive intervention on the part of the people. For 10 years, their premiere, Mahinda Rajapaksa, ran an […]

This week Just Asia begins with India, where two young men were lynched on the suspicion of being child abductors. Niloptal Das and Abhijeet Nath were artists based in Goa, who had come to Assam to celebrate the Bohag Bihu festival and do some sight-seeing. A mob stopped their SUV at night, believing a child […]

A Statement from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission GENEVA (6 June 2018) – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Wednesday condemned the alleged extra-judicial killings of suspected drug offenders in Bangladesh and urged the authorities to ensure […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) deeply regrets to inform you about the killing of two women activists in separate incidents, and the harassment of the urban poor office. One of the women actively opposed large scale mining in Agusan Del Sur, while the second formerly led a local women’s group in Aurora […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) deeply regrets to inform you about the killing of a peasant leader in Negros Occidental. The victim actively led landrights campaign in their area. The three unknown assailants were aboard a motorcycle. CASE NARRATIVE: Based on the documentation by the Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights […]

A Press Release from People’s Watch forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) People’s Watch calls for the order of immediate closure of Sterlite Copper Smelter Plant No. 1 and for the stoppage of construction at the Copper Smelter Plant No.2, by the Chief Minister Edappadi Palanisamy. People’s Watch would like to highlight that […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) deeply regrets to inform you about the killing of civilians in two separate encounters by the military. Three civilians were killed in Camarines Sur, while one teenager was killed in North Cotabato, with the military claiming him to be a child soldier. CASE NARRATIVE: Based on the […]

A Statement from Coalition Against Summary Execution (CASE) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission We, at Coalition Against Summary Execution (CASE)*, condemn in the strongest terms the Supreme Court’s decision granting the Solicitor General’s petition for Quo Warranto against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. It is abhorring to see the Supreme Court majority surrender […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) deeply regrets to inform you about the killing of a priest in Cagayan. Fr. Mark Anthony Ventura was known for being an anti-mining advocate and supporting indigenous peoples. The unidentified perpetrators shot Fr. Mark after he finished celebrating a mass. CASE NARRATIVE: Based on the documentation by […]

This week Just Asia begins with terror attacks in Indonesia. The country’s second largest city of Surabaya saw yet another suicide bombing on Monday morning, at the police station. On Sunday, three churches were attacked, killing at least 11 persons, and injuring 41 persons during Sunday mass. This was one of the worst attacks on […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) strongly condemns the terrorist attacks and suicide bombings which occurred in several churches in Surabaya, East Java Province. We note that the attacks resulted in at least 11 people killed and 41 injured. When the bombs exploded around 7a.m. they struck terror into the hearts of Indonesia’s sizeable, minority, Christian community. […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) deeply regrets to inform you of the killing of a peasant leader in Compostela Valley. The victim and his organization were actively campaigning against mining activities in the province. The killing was allegedly perpetrated by elements from the 46th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army (IBPA). CASE […]

A Statement from KARAPATAN forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Press Release April 18, 2018 “The criminalization of activists and rights defenders is apparently the standing mandate of all agencies of government, regardless of whoever is appointed – from the Justice Department, the military, the police, and down to the local government. This practice […]

This week Just Asia begins with India, where social activist Poipynhun Majaw’s body was found near a bridge in Meghalaya. According to the police, the preliminary inquiry suggests he was hit on the head with a wrench, leading to his death. While the motive for his murder has not been ascertained yet, Majaw had recently […]

This week Just Asia begins with Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, where young girls are being trafficked into prostitution. A BBC News investigation team went to Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh, for an undercover investigation, and found that foreigners seeking sex can easily gain access to children who have fled conflict in Burma. The Rohingya refugee crisis […]

A Statement from Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights (KARAPATAN) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Aside from the statements of the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein and two UN special rapporteurs on the inclusion of the names of UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous […]

Karapatan condemns the listing of more than 600 persons, human rights defenders and critics of the Duterte government in the proscription petition filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ), through Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Peter Ong, at a regional court in Manila on February 21, 2018. The petition not only seeks to declare the Communist […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Human Rights Alert, Manipur regarding the harassment meted out to their employee, activist Ms. Ranjeeta Sadokpam and her family by both the Manipuri Police and Indian Army Personnel. Ms. Ranjeeta works as a researcher for the Human Rights Alert in Manipur. CASE NARRATIVE: […]

A reflection on the Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on Sri Lanka at the 37th Session of the Human Rights Council, 26 February–23 March 2018 by Basil Fernando The idea of good governance in Sri Lanka seems to be – to make lot of good promises and thereafter to ignore […]