Right to fair trial

SAUDI ARABIA/PHILIPPINES: Falsely charged domestic worker convicted in trial in absentia

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that a Filipina domestic worker, who was falsely charged for theft, was convicted in trial in absentia. She is presently detained to serve her prison term in Saudi Arabia. She was deprived of any opportunity to defend her case. CASE DETAILS: Ms. Melanie […]

BURMA: 14 accused over bombing in fabricated case

Dear friends,  At a time that the proxy military government in Burma is purporting to bring about political change, it is continuing to arrest and falsely accuse citizens in various criminal cases. In this appeal, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) draws your attention to 14 persons accused in connection with a bombing in Pegu […]

INDONESIA: Conviction of Ahmadyah victim undermines constitutional protections

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is disturbed by the punitive decision of the Indonesian Court on August 15, 2011 to jail an innocent Ahmadi Muslim who protected himself during a mob attack, which reveals the lack of impartiality of the judiciary and the legal community. Deden Sudjana was sentenced to six months imprisonment by […]

INDIA: Witness in a human trafficking case assaulted by the accused

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information concerning the criminal case against human traffickers in Varanasi. Unfortunately this time, the primary accused Mr. Parvez, his father Mr. Maulvi and four other thugs working under the instructions of Parvez, assaulted the primary witness in the case, Mr. Fulanu, inside the court […]

INDONESIA: Whistleblower illegally charged following his complaint about corruption at Manado State University

Dear friends,  The Minahasa district police in North Sulawesi charged Stanly Handry Ering, the whistleblower in a corruption case, with defamation. Ph E A Tuerah, Rector of the University of Negeri Manado (UNIMA) reported Stanly to the Minahasa district police for defaming him as an alleged corrupt person. Rector Tuerah and his subordinates tried to […]

MALAYSIA: Six supporters of the Bersih 2.0 rally for electoral reforms remain in detention under the Emergency (Public Order and Prevention of Crime) Ordinance 1969

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that six leaders of the Parti Socialis Malaysia (PSM) remain in detention without trial under sections 3(1) and 4(1) of the Emergency (Public Order and Prevention of Crime) Ordinance 1969 (EO), which allows the police to detain suspects without trial for up to 60 days. […]

INDONESIA: Torture Trial Must Be Open to Public

The Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS) and the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) urge the military to make open to the public the upcoming trial in a case of military torture that was committed against Charles Mali and others in East Nusa Tenggara. Closed military tribunals have in the past contributed […]

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 […]

NEPAL: Trial of Hom Bahadur Bagale’s torture case must put an end to a nine-year long denial of justice

Statement | Nepal | 10-05-2011

A Joint Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission and the Center for Victims of Torture-Nepal As the case regarding the torture of Hom Bahadur Bagale will be heard in the Supreme Court of Nepal on 16 May, 2011, the Center for Victims of Torture-Nepal (CVICT) and the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) expect that […]

SRI LANKA: Victim of assault denied justice due to powerful politician

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Ms. Thushanthi Pujani Perera (19) a school girl of ”Haksala”, Dulmura, Talathuoya in the district of Kandy was assaulted by a influential family as she refused to marry a man they had introduced to her. She suffered several injuries due to assault and […]

INDIA: Mother of two children thought of suicide, twice, fearing police persecution

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Nervazhi, a human rights organisation based in Kerala, concerning the case of torture and intimidation of a family by the local police in Ernakulam district of Kerala state. The police, reportedly after accepting offers of bribe, abused, tortured and threatened the family asking […]

SRI LANKA: Principal who committed torture promoted to Ministry of Education

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a 16 year-old school child, Lahiru Madushan Suriarachchi of Horana Royal College was ill-treated by the principal of his school. The child had his cut his hair and was beaten severely by the principal. When the parents went to make a complaint to […]

SRI LANKA: OIC forced disabled rape victim to accept Rs. 10,000 in settlement

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a 23-year-old physically and mentally disabled woman was raped by a neighbour. When the victim’s mother brought her to the Dodangoda Police Station the officers recorded the complaint and arrested the suspected rapist. However, later the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) threatened and forced the mother […]

SOUTH KOREA: Two human rights defenders received sentences for helping the victims of eviction

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has obtained the details of the judgment in which two human rights defenders Mr. Park Lae-Gun and Mr. Lee Jong-Hoi were given a three-year and one month jail sentence suspended for four years and a two-year jail sentence suspended for three years respectively. They played a role […]

SRI LANKA: Victim of rape continuously denied justice now lives in fear

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a 10 year-year-old girl was the victim of attempted rape by an influential person. The child was admitted to the Nawalapitiya Hospital and later transferred to the Kandy Teaching Hospital for treatment because of the severity of her injuries. She was subsequently treated […]

BURMA: Five men and two women given long jail sentences for alleged bomb plots

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) brings you details of the latest case in which a group of democracy and human rights activists has been accused of involvement in a series of bombings. The seven were already sentenced to over 30 years in prison in 2008 and have again been sentenced to another […]

SRI LANKA: Victim of rape and her family live in fear due to influence of the suspect

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a 9-year-old girl was raped by a influential wealthy businessman. The child was admitted to the Kandy Teaching Hospital for treatment and the Judicial Medical Officers also examined the child. Powerful people behind the suspect are trying to suppress justice by making a […]

SRI LANKA: Vision impaired child is tortured by a teacher

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a 13-year-old school child, Amuwaththe Mudiyanselage Lahiru Ruwan Chamara of R/Galagama Vidyalaya in Belihul Oya in the Rathnapura District, was tortured by a teacher. The child suffers from a rare affliction known as keratoconus and underwent surgery for a lens transplant at the […]

SRI LANKA: Mirihana Police brutally torture a man and fill fabricated charges

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. Waharagedara Ranjith Sumangala was arrested by officers attached to the Mirihana Police Station and detained for a period of five days during which time he was tortured. He was assaulted on his leg with a pole in front of his wife and […]

SRI LANKA: Independence without civil liberties is a farce

Sri Lanka will be celebrating its independence from the British Empire on February 4, 2011. The lamentation that independence has not meant a great deal to the people of Sri Lanka is commonly heard. However, the causes that created this situation have often not been examined. The very meaning of independence for citizens of any […]