Impunity

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the case of Mr. Abujam Shidam, a college teacher in Mapipur who was arrested on fabricated charges and tortured while in custody by the Manipur State Police. The case reported by the Human Rights Alert, a local human rights organisation based in Imphal, […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information on January 7, 2008 that Akash, a human rights defender as well as journalist, has been facing several allegedly false extortion charges in Rajshahi Bangladesh. Even though a vacation bench of the High Court granted him bail on October 16 on one of […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the case of Kalidas Ghosh, a 17-year-old boy who was killed by the Border Security Force (BSF) stationed at the Indo-Bangladesh border on 28 December 2007. The AHRC has been informed by Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), a human rights organisation working in […]

[NOTICE: The AHRC have developed a new automatic letter-sending system using the “button” below. However, in this appeal, we could not include e-mail addresses of some of the Cambodian authorities. We encourage you to send your appeal letters via fax or post to those people. Fax numbers and postal addresses of the Cambodian authorities are […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  AS-215-2006 September 14, 2006 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission CAMBODIA: Law abolishing parliamentary immunity is unconstitutional & unacceptable On August 31 the National Assembly of Cambodia adopted a new law regarding its members. The Law on Members of Parliament is intended, among other things, to regulate parliamentary immunity, including […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you about the prolonged detention of two farmers in Davao Oriental province, the Philippines. Both of them have been detained for almost three years without any progress in their case because the prosecution witnesses failed to appear in court on six occasions. One of […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AS-275-2006 November 06, 2006   A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission   INDONESIA: Refusal to cooperate with United Nations human rights mechanisms in investigation of Munir’s death     The wife of celebrated human rights defender Munir Said Thalib, who was poisoned and died on September 7, 2004 under highly […]

INDIA: Police inaction and no effective investigation; nexus between the police and criminals; violation of property rights; life threats; impunity; un-rule of law —————————————————— Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from its local partner MASUM in West Bengal regarding the alleged frequent attacks on the life and property of entire […]

In March 2005, the then-army commander in Thailand, General Pravit Wongsuwan, was asked what disciplinary action would be taken against three generals found liable for the death of 84 innocent civilians on 25 October 2004, six outside the Tak Bai District Police Station and 78 in army trucks that transported over one thousand demonstrators and […]

Why are the authorities of the University of Karachi protecting attempted rapists? A July 28 incident, which allegedly involved a number of university staff and members of the Pakistan Rangers stationed on campus, was at first denied outright by the university vice chancellor. After tremendous public pressure, including a series of urgent appeals issued by […]

There is a saying in India that, “If a dog goes mad it can be chained; but what can be done if the chain goes mad?” Applied to law enforcement, criminals are the dog, the police are the chain. So applied, the question is very appropriate for India today, and not least of all, West […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is writing to you on the occasion of the second anniversary of the murder of human rights lawyer Munir Said Thalib. September 7, 2004 is an unforgettable day for us. It is a day that has had lasting and resounding effects on countless thousands of people not only in […]

Maina Sunawar was 15 years old when members of the Nepalese armed forces arbitrarily arrested her. Since this date – February 17, 2004 – she has disappeared. All the evidence indicates that she was tortured to death by members of the military, who have since sought to deny her arrest and cover up her death. […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is happy to inform you that Mr. A.M. Thilak Adhikari has been acquitted of all charges against him on 11 July 2006. He was falsely charged by the Mahiyangana police after refusing to pay the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of traffic, grocery bill of Rs. 5,300 in December 2004 […]

[RE: UA-251-2005: PHILIPPINES: Brutal torture of a 25-year-old man over mistaken identity in General Santos City, Mindanao; UP-007-2006: PHILIPPINES: Investigation into the brutal torture of a man by mistaken identity begins; UP-047-2006: PHILIPPINES: Torture victim denied treatment while police director exonerates his men’s acts as justifiable; UP-014-2006: PHILIPPINES: Office of the Ombudsman for the Military […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to you in advance of your State on Monday, July 24. While we look forward to what you will be reporting regarding the present situation of your country and future plans, we would like to draw your attention to the state of human rights in the Philippines, which […]

In a very strange move that will surprise anyone concerned with the global effort to eradicate disappearances and gross human rights violations, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL), which claims to be the country’s prime agency for the protection and promotion of human rights, officially decided to stop further inquiries into disappearance cases […]

The HRCSL under the leadership of the earlier commissioners decided to send a legal representative from the HRCSL to attend the trials relating to the torture and murder of the victim, Gerald Perera who was waiting to give evidence in a torture case against several police officers from the Wattala Police Station for severely torturing […]

Gerald Perera was fatally shot on November 21 2004 while waiting to give evidence before the Negombo High Court against several police officers who had been accused of causing serious injuries to him after he was arrested on mistaken identity.  A few days after the shooting he died of his injuries and was thus prevented […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned by reports that the authorities in southern Thailand have proposed to give large cash rewards to people who have gunfights with alleged insurgents, where the highest reward is given for killing the person. The AHRC is urging widespread attention to be paid to these […]