Fabrication of charges

BURMA: A litany of abuses–the torture and trial of Phyo Wai Aung

On Tuesday, May 8, a judge in Rangoon will read the verdicts in four cases brought against a young engineer, Phyo Wai Aung, for alleged involvement in a bombing attack of 15 April 2010 that killed 10 people, seriously wounded 46 and injured 27 others. The trial started on 30 June 2010. Until the end […]

INDIA: Judge, judge thyself

Statement | India | 26-04-2012

The attempt by the Supreme Court of India to draw-up operative principles for the media outlining the contours of Article 19 (1) (a) of the constitution is an exercise that the Court should not venture into. In fact, the Court does not have a constitutional mandate to do so. It is within the realm of […]

INDIA: Paranoia at Writer’s Building

Statement | India | 12-04-2012

Referring to the reactions of the government of West Bengal to demands of public causes and justice under the leadership of Ms. Mamata Banerjee, as paranoid, would be in fact an understatement. The state government led by the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) that was elected to power – reflecting the people’s wish for change, […]

SRI LANKA: Interviews of the abducted Premkumar Gunarathnam’s mother and his sister

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward you the following statement from the mother of Premakumar Gunarathnam and his sister. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong —————————– A statement from the mother of Premakumar Gunarathnam and his sister, forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) Earlier, we reported about the abduction of […]

PAKISTAN: No inquiry has yet been initiated in to the case of the torture to death of a school teacher

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) condemns the recent ruthless, barbaric, and torturous murder of Mr Abdul Qudoos Ahmad, a school teacher, Ahmadi religious group of Islam. The AHRC calls on the Pakistan government to immediately bring the perpetrators to justice. The level of ruthless barbarity seen in this murder is unacceptable and seldom. It […]

SRI LANKA: Notice of disappearance of Kumar Gunaratnam and Dimuthu Atygalle and appeal for accountability

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward you the following statement from the movement for people’s struggle and the Frontline Socialist party. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong —————————– A statement from the movement for people’s struggle and the Frontline Socialist party forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) This […]

SRI LANKA: Two arrested from JVP dissident group

Mr. Premakumar Gunarathnam the leader of the JVP dissident group and Ms. Dimuthu Attigala a member of the same group are reported to be missing from yesterday night. According to a report, published today in the Daily Mirror, both have been arrested. However the grounds on which they were arrested or the location of the place of […]

PAKISTAN: Police tortured a young man in custody for extracting confessional statement on murder of a boy

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a young man was seriously tortured by the police of City Bhalwal, Sargodha, Punjab Province, and was forced to confess to the murder of a 14-year-old student. The victim was kept blind folded in solitary confinement where he was tortured. As he would […]

PHILIPPINES: Fabricated murder cases on a labour lawyer and other activists dismissed

[RE: AHRC-UAU-003-2009: PHILIPPINES: Human rights and political activists exonerated from murder cases face another questionable charge] ——————————————————————— Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is pleased to inform you that fabricated murder charges filed against a labour leader and other activists have been dismissed on grounds of merit by the San Pablo City prosecutor […]

SRI LANKA: Possibility of new opportunities – successful UN resolution

The successful United Nations Resolution on reconciliation and accountability should pave the way for a new period of commitment to cure the wounds of a long conflict, caused upon individuals as well as on the institutional structure of democracy and the rule of law in Sri Lanka. A responsible approach to dealing with the past […]

SRI LANKA: Civil society urges government to stop hate campaigns and protect human rights defenders

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following statement from a group of Sri Lankan human rights defenders. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- A Statement from a group of Sri Lankan human rights defenders forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission SRI LANKA: Civil society urges government to stop hate campaigns […]

SRI LANKA: Extrajudicial Killings — The miserable breakdown of the rule of law

By Nilantha Ilangamuwa Our lives are spinning out from world to world; the shapes of things are shifting in the wind. What do we know beyond the rapture and the dread?- Stanley Kunitz* “They finished off my husband after two days of torture, and then took me to Hambantota where a number of women were […]

PHILIPPINES: “I stand trial to defend the ‘concept of human rights’,” Sulu activist writes from prison

(Hong Kong, March 20, 2011) Temogen “Cocoy” Tulawie, an activist from Sulu province who was falsely charged with attempted murders based on evidence taken by way of forced confession, writes from prison his reasons why he submits himself for court trial. In Temogen’s letter dated February 4, 2012, originally written in Tausug Language and posted on his […]

SRI LANKA: Dum spiro, spero, dum vivimus vivamus

By Nilantha Ilangamuwa Speech after long silence; it is right, All other lovers being estranged or dead, Unfriendly lamplight hid under its shade, The curtains drawn upon unfriendly night, That we descant and yet again descant Upon the supreme theme of Art and Song: Bodily decrepitude is wisdom; young We loved each other and were […]

SOUTH KOREA: Licence of arrest granted to police and military in Gangjeong, Jeju Island

Despite heavy criticism from inside and outside the country (AHRC-STM-041-2012), South Korean police have been arbitrarily arresting and detaining rights activists and villagers in Gangjeong village where a navy base is under construction. Meanwhile, several media organizations reported allegations that the Navy and construction companies are violating laws relating to the environment and cultural assets. […]

BURMA: Appeal for retrial or release of accused and dismissal of judge in Phyo Wai Aung case

CAMPAIGN PAGE: FREE PHYO WAI AUNG http://www.humanrights.asia/campaigns/phyo-wai-aung ——————————————————————— Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been closely following the case of a young man whom the authorities in Burma have falsely accused of involvement in a bombing during 2010, and who confessed after extremely brutal and protracted torture. In this appeal, we are urging […]

INDIA: Predicament from organised lawlessness

Statement | India | 12-03-2012

The murder of an Indian Police Service officer Mr. Narendra Kumar on 8 March in Morena district of Madhya Pradesh has again brought to light the criminal nexus between the mining mafia operating in the country and their patrons in power who have political interests. The young, 2009-batch police officer, stationed as the Sub-Divisional Police […]

BANGLADESH: Arbitrary arrests and detention must end immediately

The people of Bangladesh are living in a tense situation prior to a mass rally in Dhaka on March 12, 2012 called by the opposition parties against the ruling regime. The opposition political parties, led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, have organised a march towards Dhaka, on March 12 which is aimed at showing their […]

PAKISTAN: Saleem Shahzad case -rule of law or rule of ISI?

Freedom of expression is one of the essential pre-requirements for the practice, protection and promotion of democracy. If we are to speak of a democratic Pakistan we need to examine, whether the media is free. Each and every day media professionals are facing threats of kidnapping or murder for telling the truth. The truth about […]

BANGLADESH: Presidential clemency political. Says Asian HR Commission

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following report published in The Daily Star, a national English language daily newspaper of Bangladesh, on 1 March 2012. The original story can be read at: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=224539 . Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- A Statement from the Daily Star, a national English language daily newspaper of […]