Prosecution system

SRI LANKA: UNHRC view asking the Sri Lankan government to pay compensation to the victim of sexual abuse and rape.

We reproduce below the full text of the view adopted by UNHRC in Rita Jesudasan’s case. The case was submitted to the committee by ALRC. Views adopted by the Committee under article 5 (4) of the Optional Protocol, concerning communication No. 2256/2013*, ** Submitted by: X. (represented by counsel, Sergey A.            […]

AHRC TV: Thai activists charged for walking and other stories in JUST ASIA, Episode 222

  This week Just Asia begins with Thailand, where police issued summons to at least another 47 individuals on May 29, for exercising their freedom of peaceful assembly to call for elections and democracy. Fifteen others were charged by the police earlier, also for participating at an assembly held at Thammasat University and the UN […]

AHRC TV: Three years after devastating Nepal earthquake and other stories in JUST ASIA, Episode 218

This week Just Asia begins with Nepal, where April 25 marked the third year since the devastating Gorkha-centered earthquake. The 2015 earthquake killed 8,979 people and destroyed around 900,000 homes. It is a tragedy that many victims continue living in tattered makeshift camps and tents. As yet another monsoon nears, people hope that the new […]

SRI LANKA: Crime – Something no one wants to touch

by Basil Fernando One of the things that the Sri Lankan State as well as the Civil Society itself has given up on- is the control of crime. Crime has spread into everything and continues to spread further and further. However, we see that the more crime spreads, the less amenable it is for us […]

AHRC TV: Eight-year-old girl raped in Kashmir and other stories in JUST ASIA, Episode 217

This week Just Asia begins with India, where an 8-year-old girl from Kashmir was gang-raped and murdered. Her family reported her missing in January this year, and only a week later was her body found. According to the charge sheet filed in April, the girl from the Bakarwal Muslim community was gang-raped and murdered by […]

INDIA: Smokescreen judgments, police impunity and judicial overreach

Article | India | 11-04-2018

By Urmila Pullat On Mar 20, 2018, in Dr. Subhash Kashinath Mahajan vs. The State of Maharashtra And Anr., the Supreme Court of India held that there is no absolute bar on granting anticipatory bail for complaints under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (hereinafter the SC/ST Act). Further, […]

AHRC TV: Rohingya children victims of trafficking and other stories in JUST ASIA, Episode 213

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 […]

INDIA: Acquittal of Pramod Muthalik and others is a shocking travesty of justice

Statement | India | 15-03-2018

On March 13 2018, the Third Judicial Magistrate at the First Class Court in Mangalore acquitted Pramod Muthalik, and 25 other members of the Sri Rama Sene of the 2009 assault of several women in a Amnesia, a Mangalore pub. The Sri Ram Sene is a right-wing Hindutva group that has previously been involved in […]

WORLD: Draft Asian Declaration on right to justice – right to an effective remedy for violations of human rights in terms of Article 2 of the ICCPR

Paper | World | 05-03-2018

A supplement to the Asian Human Rights Charter launched in Gwangju, South Korea on 17 May, 1998 This declaration is to be launched on the 20th anniversary of launching of the Asian Human Rights Charter (A People’s Charter) The Asian Human Rights Commission (Hong Kong) and the May 18 Memorial Foundation(Gwangju, South Korea) are presenting herewith the […]

AHRC TV: Amnesty reports worldwide deterioration of rights and other stories in JUST ASIA, Episode 210

This week Just Asia begins with Amnesty International’s annual report, highlighting a worldwide worsening of human rights. Released last Thursday, the report covers 159 countries. It claims that world leaders are increasingly “undermining the rights of millions,” either by turning a blind eye to rights abuses, or by perpetrating them. The ‘epicenter of human tragedy’ […]

INDIA: Suicide by a hungry teen in the times of 1.7 billion USD loot by tycoons

Article | India | 01-03-2018

By Avinash Pandey In other times Jyoti could have gotten at least a little outrage for her, often all poor and the marginalized get in the country after such tragedies inflicted upon them. Alas, the country is busy over outraging the USD 1.7 billion fraud, and counting, that the Punjab National Bank has complained Nirav […]

WORLD: Ignoring Crime Prevention is a Sri Lankan Policy

Article | World | 27-02-2018

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 […]

AHRC TV: Child murderer given four death sentences in Pakistan and other stories in JUST ASIA, Episode 209

This week Just Asia begins with Pakistan, where 24-year-old Imran Ali has been given four death sentences for raping and murdering a six-year old girl last month. Zainab Ansari’s body was found in a rubbish dump in the city of Kasur on January 9, five days after she went missing. Ali has been linked by police to […]

AHRC TV: Sword attack in Indonesian church and other stories in JUST ASIA, Episode 208

This week Just Asia begins with Indonesia, where a sword-wielding man attacked a church during Sunday services at St Lidwina Church, Yogyakarata province. The man burst into the church on Java Island, ran toward the choir and attacked German pastor Karl Edmund Prier, who was leading the choir. He then slashed the statues of Jesus […]

AHRC TV: Rohingya crisis could spark regional conflict says UN chief and other stories in JUST ASIA, Episode 207

This week Just Asia begins with Burma, with the UN’s human rights chief warning that the government’s persecution of the Rohingya Muslim minority has the potential to spark regional conflict. “It is sometimes said that today’s human rights violations will become tomorrow’s conflicts,” Mr. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said on Monday. Also this week, the Associated Press […]

AHRC TV: Thai activists charged for walking and other stories in JUST ASIA, Episode 206

This week Just Asia begins with Thailand, where seven members of the People Go Network and a sociology professor presented themselves at a police station inPathum Thani Province on Wednesday. The activists were accused of breaching Article 12 of NCPO Order No. 3/2015, which prohibits the gathering of five or more people for political purposes, after they organized and participated in a peaceful […]

INDONESIA: Criminal justice reforms and human rights accountability urgently needed

An Open Letter from the Asian Human Rights Commission to United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mr. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)  Palais Wilson  52 Rue Des Pâquis  CH-1201 Geneva SWITZERLAND Fax : +41 22 917 9012/0213 […]

AHRC TV: Pakistani police shoot fourth victim in Karachi and other stories in JUST ASIA, Episode 205

This week Just Asia begins with Pakistan, where police shot dead a 24-year-old rickshaw driver while allegedly chasing terrorists. The driver was later found to have nothing to do with any terrorists or gangs. Although the police officers have been arrested, no charges have been filed yet. This is the fourth police killing seen in […]

INDIA: Judicial transparency and accountability – the nation has a right to know

Statement | India | 22-01-2018

The press conference held by Justices Jasti Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan Lokur and Kurian Joseph on 12 January 2018 is a watershed event in Indian judicial history. Four of the five most senior judges of the Supreme Court of India, appealed to the conscience of the nation, to intervene, failing which the judges cautioned that […]

AHRC TV: Pakistani women speak out after brutal child abuse and other stories in JUST ASIA, Episode 204

This week Just Asia begins with Pakistan, which has been engulfed by a wave of agitation after the rape and brutal murder of seven-year-old Zainab Ansari in Punjab Province. Zainab’s body was found dumped on a rubbish heap days after she was abducted. Zainab was the 12th victim of child abuse and murder in the […]