Prison conditions

PAKISTAN: The government dodges the international community on civil and political rights

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the Occasion of the International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011 The full report is available for download at http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/hrreport/2011/AHRC-SPR-008-2011/view. The state has become dysfunctional in providing basic human rights to the people. Though the parliament exists it either cannot assert its constitutional duties or does not […]

SOUTH KOREA: Human Rights in 2011 – Systematic setup to restrict rights vs. systematic failure to protect rights

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the Occasion of the International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011 On the occasion of the International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011 the AHRC is publishing the annual report on the State of Human Rights in South Korea in 2011. The full report is available […]

BANGLADESH: State appears bankrupt in protecting rights

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the Occasion of the International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011 International Human Rights Day is going to be ‘observed’ in Bangladesh amidst numerous victims facing gross abuses of human rights without an access to legal remedies from the existing criminal justice system. On the eve […]

NEPAL: Commitments to accountability and justice continue to be jeopardized in 2011

Statement | Nepal | 07-12-2011

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the Occasion of the International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011 On the occasion of the 63rd Human Rights Day, the Asian Human Rights Commission is releasing its annual report on the state of human rights protection in Nepal through 2011. The report is available here. Given […]

INDONESIA: Human Rights in 2011 – The Decay of Pancasila and Constitutional Protections

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the Occasion of the International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011 On the occasion of the International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011 the AHRC publishes its annual report on the State of Human Rights in Indonesia in 2011. The full report will be made available […]

BURMA: Urgent humanitarian intervention needed for jailed monk

An Open Letter from the Asian Human Rights Commission to the President of Myanmar/Burma U Thein Sein President of Myanmar President Office Office No.18 Naypyitaw Myanmar Dear Mr Thein Sein BURMA: Urgent humanitarian intervention needed for jailed monk I am writing to you with an urgent humanitarian request concerning the current conditions of detention for […]

PAKISTAN: Reforming Pakistan’s Prison System

Islamabad/Brussels, 12 October 2011: Reforming Pakistan’s corrupt and dysfunctional prison system is central to curbing rising crime and militancy, fixing a deteriorating criminal justice system and enforcing the rule of law. Reforming Pakistan’s Prison System, the latest report from the International Crisis Group, continues a series of reports on a deteriorating criminal justice sector that […]

SRI LANKA: Women’s prison conditions overcrowded & inhumane

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following article from IPS, written by Ranmali Bandarage. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- An article from IPS forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission COLOMBO, Jul 20, 2011 (IPS) – Monthly ‘visiting hours’ at the female ward of Sri Lanka’s notorious Welikada Prison are […]

INDONESIA: Police ill-treat peaceful protesters and charge them with rebellion in a flawed process

Dear friends,  After the Manokwari District Police in West Papua arrested peaceful protesters following a flag raising event on 14 December, 2010, seven persons were charged with rebellion. The detainees were ill-treated and denied medical care for weeks resulting in serious health conditions. Police forced the victims to sign the dossier of the case before […]

PAKISTAN: The saga of the prisoners waiting in death row

Malik Ayub Sumbal, Islamabad   More than 8000 prisoners sentenced with death by the Pakistani courts during the last two decades are still waiting to meet their fate in the Pakistani death cells. These prisoners have been indulged in long awaited appeals to the Pakistani courts and other complicated judicial matters. According to the data […]

BURMA: Family of accused denied prison visits; detainee reportedly held in dog kennels

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been closely following the case of a young man whom the authorities in Burma have accused of involvement in a bombing during April. Phyo Wai Aung has alleged that he was brutally tortured for nine days to force him to confess. According to the latest information, […]

SRI LANKA: Shootings at Anuradhapura Prison

It has been reported that four persons were killed at the Anuradhapura Prison after a shooting incident. According to the details reported a group of prisoners had been engaged in a fast in order to call attention to their problems. They had been fasting for a few days and the negotiations between the prison authorities […]

BURMA: Father and son jailed and tortured for taking photographs of bombing

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been closely following the case of a father and son both of who have been imprisoned because the latter was arrested while taking photographs of a bombing in Rangoon during April 2010. The authorities have accused the two of intending to send the photographs abroad and […]

SRI LANKA: Police torture as an indicator of the constitutional degradation of the Rule of Law

Sofie Rordam Sri Lankan citizens are protected against torture and arbitrary arrest in sections 11, 12 and 13 of the Constitution of Sri Lanka. In addition Sri Lanka has ratified the United Nations Convention against Torture and Cruel and Inhuman Treatment in 1994. While the legislation is there, the effectuation is not. The gap between […]

BURMA: Human rights defender allegedly poisoned in cell

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission is deeply concerned about threats to the security and worsening health in prison of Ma Sandar, a human rights defender who was imprisoned on fabricated charges after an argument with doctors. According to the latest information about her case, Ma Sandar has been sent to a remote prison […]

BURMA: Death of a prisoner from a curable disease is due to neglect by prison authorities

According to a media report, the human rights defender monk, U Nemainda, who had been suffered from a curable skin disease for over a month died in the Mawlemyaing prison on December 8. His death is blamed on the absence of medical care. He had complained to the prison authorities about his disease but no […]

PHILIPPINES: Prisons should not be the ‘dungeons’ that they have become

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) welcomes the report that Ms Leila De Lima, secretary of the Department of Justice (DoJ), has “pointed on the importance of having a unified penitentiary system.” The current structure of the prison system is under the authority of two government departments, the DoJ and the Department of Interior and Local Government […]

THAILAND: Chaining of wounded detainees under Emergency Decree

Abhisit Vejjajiva Prime Minister c/o Government House Pitsanulok Road, Dusit District Bangkok 10300 THAILAND Fax: +66 2 288 4000 ext. 4025 Tel: +66 2 288 4000 E-mail: spokesman@thaigov.go.th or abhisit@abhisit.org Dear Mr. Abhisit THAILAND: Chaining of wounded detainees under Emergency Decree The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is writing to you regarding the treatment of detainees under the […]

PHILIPPINES: ‘Abadilla Five’ mark 14 years in prison

(Hong Kong, June 18, 2010) To mark the 14th year of their imprisonment the families of the ‘Abadilla Five’ detainees once again held a demonstration in front of the Supreme Court in Metro Manila to renew their calls for justice. They are asking the court to resolve at once the detainees’ appeal convicting them for […]

INDIA: Country celebrates the 61st day of successful oppression in Manipur

Statement | India | 11-06-2010

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 […]