Right to life

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information that Mr. Shahed Kayes, who is a leading human rights defender fighting against illegal sand mining in the Meghna River adjacent to the Mayadip and Nunertek islands, was abducted and stabbed on 25 July 2013. The assailants attempted to cut off his left […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) condemns the abduction and attack upon Mr. Shahed Kayes, a human rights defender working in Narayanganj district in Bangladesh. A group of persons abducted Mr. Shahed Kayes, a well-respected human rights defender, working in Narayanganj district of Bangladesh, yesterday, 25 July. The AHRC is informed that Kayes’ abductors, with […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission has been following with concern news of the police targeting of gay and transgendered people in Burma, or Myanmar, and has recently obtained detailed information on a number of cases of alleged arbitrary arrest, detention and torture of persons on the grounds of sexual orientation. The AHRC is troubled both […]

The president of Burma, or Myanmar, U Thein Sein in his recent visit to the United Kingdom has made a commitment that all political prisoners in his country will be released by the end of the year. According to him, a committee is continuing to review all relevant cases and determine those persons who are […]

(Hong Kong, 19 July, 2013) “If one innocent person is killed by [the] police or other security forces in a fake encounter, it creates tremendous upsurge of hatred…people always accurately know who was innocent. People even know whether an innocent person was killed by mistake or deliberately…” said the Commission of Inquiry constituted by the […]

The Commission of Inquiry, constituted by the Supreme Court of India, in Writ Petition (Criminal) 129 of 2012 [Extra Judicial Execution Victims Families’ Association and Another (petitioners) Against Union of India and Others (respondents)] and Writ Petition (Civil) 445 of 2012 [Suresh Singh (petitioner) Against Union of India and Others (respondents)] has filed its report […]

Sachin Kumar Jain Perhaps, I may not arrive at any conclusions in this feature article. I am in a dilemma over the veracity of the data available on the state agriculture. Perhaps you could help me in this effort. Chances are you could be befuddled as me on the matter! In 2012 Madhya Pradesh government […]

A Joint Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission and Odhikar A survivor of torture, relatives of a survivor and of two victims of death, who were tortured to death in police custody, have shared their gruesome experiences in a People’s Tribunal today, June 26, 2013, in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Bangladeshi human rights group Odhikar, in collaboration with the […]

Click here to watch our video presentation The following is a series of reflections by experts, of what has gone wrong in Asia, that despite attempts, torture continues to exist in most Asian states. The response is released marking the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, June 26. Question 1: Is […]

INR 17, or approximately 30 cents in USD, is what an average poor spends a day in rural India. Their urban friends are no better off either; they have to content with spending INR 27 for seeing a day off. Adjust that amount for the cost of living in urban centres and they are just […]

“Out of 4835 Members of Parliament and Members of the Legislative Assembly analysed, 1448 members or 31% have declared criminal cases against them in a self sworn affidavit filed with the Election Commission of India.” This alarming statistic is taken from a report conducted in 2012 by the Association for Democratic Reforms in India (full […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Odhikar that Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)-11 indiscriminately opened fire in front of a mosque after midday prayers on Friday 1 March 2013. The incident occurred in Mutubi village of Sonaimuri upazila in the Noakhali district. This resulted in the extra-judicial murder of a […]

A Statement from a group of civil society actors in India against the ostracisation of Mr. Harsh Mander, by the Chief Minister of Gujarat forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission New Delhi 12 June 2013 With great pride, we would like to put on record that the work of our colleague and friend Mr. […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received further information regarding several elderly women living in destitution in the Palash Bari area of the Gaibandha district of the Rangpur division. As in the earlier cases reported by the AHRC, most of the victims have no one to look after them and are physically […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about allegedly illegal demolition of around 120 houses in Florentino St., Sto. Domingo, Quezon City on April 10-11, 2013. The information sent to the AHRC by Barangay Sto. Domingo Settlers Association through Defend Jobs Philippine asserts that the demolitions were carried out in violation […]

सरकार ने नये साल में देश के चुनिन्दा 20 जिलों में अभी 7 सामाजिक सुरक्षा योजनाओं में हितग्राहियों के खाते में सीधे नकद राशि पहुंचाने का महाभियान शुरू किया है| सरकार के मुताबिक़ यह एक एतिहासिक कदम है और इससे देश में कायाकल्प हो जाएगा | लोग अब सीधे अपने खाते में राशि पायेंगे और […]

Several police officers from the Karandeniya police illegally arrested Chandila Padmakumara Gurusinghe of Kiripedda, Babuwo Kanda, Karandeniya in Galle District, apparently on the instigation of a cinnamon trader. He was arrested without being informed of the reason for his arrest and he learned it only after he was brought to the police station by listening […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the forced eviction of indigenous communities of Singda New Bazar, Manipur by the Irrigation and Flood Control Department, Government of Manipur, for expansion of the Singda Dam area. This affects 220 members of around 60 households belonging to Vaiphei, Kharam, Ireng Naga, and […]

The Council of Islamic Ideology in Pakistan held a meeting on May 29, headed by Maulana Sherani, and warned that if the blasphemy laws are amended, the country’s minorities will be unsafe, but how much worse could the situation get? Minorities have been suffering since these laws were introduced by General Zia Ul Haq in […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about several elderly people being pushed into starvation in the Palash Bari area of the Gaibandha district of Rangpur division. Most of these elderly people are living in penury with no family to look after them and are forced into begging or living on […]