Freedom of expression

Basil Fernando For many decades now, international journalists have interpreted every story that has emerged from Sri Lanka to be some kind of war story. Some journalists have proposed that Sri Lanka’s use of overwhelming force was able to eradicate terrorism in the country, and that other countries such as the United States, should follow […]

“The government must tell us who killed our father; it must arrest the murderers,” says Kamran Hayat, the 8-year-old son of journalist Hayatullah Khan, whose handcuffed body was found four years ago, on 16 June 2006, near Mir Ali, in the Tribal Area of North Waziristan. Khan, who had been shot in the head, was […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that two Christian men are in imminent danger after they were arrested, without a legitimate investigation, for blasphemy. The police officers involved have not followed the penal code, which only allows such charges to be made after an investigation by the superintendent of police. Blasphemy […]

Today, the Union Home Ministry, the Chief Ministers of Manipur and Nagaland and a handful of Naga and Meitei nationalists are celebrating the 61st day of their successful enforcement of an indefinite economic blockade organised against the ordinary people living in Manipur state. In tribute to the strenuous effort of the All Naga Students Association […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that an Aceh-based journalist was beaten and threatened by a military officer. The journalist had published an article – against the request of the officer – about illegal logging in the area, and its possible involvement with the Alapan District Police Station (Polres), and […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is concerned about the constant threat of censorship faced by BBC Pakistan, the independent radio station broadcasting in Urdu. The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) and the ministry of information and broadcasting, both under the strong influence of the Army, censored news bulletins that the BBC […]

Late in the evening of Tuesday, June 1, 2010, the government of Bangladesh closed a Bangla-speaking national daily newspaper, the Daily Amar Desh. They arrested the acting editor Mr. Mahmudur Rahman in his office in the early morning hours of June 2. The authorities cancelled the declaration of the newspaper, sealing off its newsroom and printing […]

In many countries, people talk about trial by media. This type of non-legal trial occurs when an intense amount of media speculation on a case results in the public having certain foregone conclusions about the guilt or innocence of the accused person before he or she has heard the verdict of a judge. In Burma, […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward to you the following statement release by Mr. Bonsong Chaisingkananont, academy of Department of Philosophy, Silpakorn University. . Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- A Statement from Mr. Bonsong Chaisingkananont, academy of Department of Philosophy, Silpakorn University forwarded by the Asian Human Rights […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that more than a hundred villagers were injured in an incident in which the police opened fire and assaulted protestors in Orissa on 15 May. The police have reportedly fired upon the villagers who had gathered at the entrance of their village to prevent […]

Following a competition in which cartoons and drawings were submitted, the government of Pakistan blocked many websites over what it referred to as blasphemous caricatures. Amongst the websites blocked are Facebook and the popular video-sharing YouTube. This has apparently been done in a bid to stop the flow of blasphemous materials amid countrywide protests. Before […]

SEOUL (17 May 2010) – At the end of his 12-day country mission, UN Special Rapporteur Frank La Rue noted that the Republic of Korea has come a long way since the restoration in 1987 of a multi-party political system. However, he expressed concern that “since the candlelight demonstrations, the full respect for human rights, […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to inform you of another raft of charges against a journalist in Burma who was sentenced to a long prison sentence and whose appeal against imprisonment has so far been unsuccessful. Young journalist Ma Hla Hla Win appealed at the end of April against her 27-year […]

Danilo Reyes The island of Negros is divided into two dominant languages–Cebuano in the east and Hiligaynon in the west. The accent, words and the meaning of the spoken word in these languages is unique and different in their own way. However, to a certain extent a Cebuano speaker like me, with some basic knowledge […]

“In what country do you appoint an arsonist to put out fires?” Reporters without Borders asked today after learning that Mervyn Silva, a politician notorious for insulting and physically attacking journalists, has been appointed deputy minister of media and information. Labour minister in the last government, Silva was confirmed in his new post by parliament […]

23 April 2010 Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders is extremely concerned about the impact on press freedom of the political in Thailand and reiterates its appeal to all parties to respect and guarantee the work of the press. “The gravity of this crisis reinforces the need to respect the free flow of news and […]

(April 15, 2010) “It is playing with death to work as a journalist in Bajaur,” a journalist in this Tribal Area told Reporters Without Borders after yesterday’s attempted abduction of one of his colleagues, Imran Khan, in Khar, a town in Bajaur. Khan and his sister were both seriously injured when resisting the kidnap attempt […]

Dear friends,  A radio station in Indonesia – Radio Era Baru – has been forcibly shut down by police in an alleged act of censorship. An investigation by the country’s human rights commission has concluded that the move was in response to pressure from Chinese officials, who objected to the station’s airing of criticism of […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission joins other concerned groups and individuals around the world to condemn the blocking in Thailand of 36 websites. The websites were blocked under a state of emergency that the unelected Prime Minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, declared on 7 April 2010 in response to continued protests in Bangkok. Most of the 36 […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission expresses its shock at the most . On March 22, 2010 a mob which arrived on a bus attacked the Sirasa TV building with stones. The crowd came well prepared for this attack and continued it for some time. Sirasa TV is one of the most well-known media institutions in […]