Rule of law

SRI LANKA: Two men are shot, illegally detained and charged with a fabricated offence by Urubokka police

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the botched arrest and shooting of two men by Urubokka police officers, who then fabricated their charges. The Assistant Superintendent of Police admitted that they were innocent in the Magistrate’s Court, however the officers responsible have not yet been investigated for misconduct.  CASE […]

UPDATE (Sri Lanka): A police officer on trial for the murder of Gerald Perera remains in service at Gampaha Police Station

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) would like to report that a police inspector being tried for the assassination of Gerald Perera is still working for the state as an officer. The victim was a complainant in a torture trial against police officers when he was shot dead. With one of the accused […]

BURMA: Two elected MPs given 27 years for writing letter to UN

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to have to inform you of yet another case of gross injustice and denial of human rights in Burma through that country’s “injustice system”. In this case, two elected parliamentarians have been sentenced to 27 years in jail each for organizing a group of their peers […]

UPDATE (Thailand): Landmark trial to begin of policemen who illegally arrested and dispersed protestors six years ago

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed that the provincial court in Songkhla, Southern Thailand is set to hear the case against a group of policemen on 24 June 2009, after pending for six years. It is a landmark complaint—the first ever to be filed against policemen in the country—and has […]

BURMA: Licences of lawyers revoked for merely representing their clients’ wishes

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has previously reported on the case of two human rights lawyers who were sentenced to four months’ imprisonment each for contempt of court, because they withdrew their powers of attorney on the wishes of clients who cited the reason as a lack of faith in Burma’s judicial […]

BURMA: Case against Aung San Suu Kyi exposes ‘injustice system’

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been closely following the case against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and three other persons since their arrest in May 2009, which is a clear product of what has been described as Burma’s ‘injustice system’. In this appeal we give some basic details of the case […]

PAKISTAN: A young man is shot dead by police at a wedding party

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received reports that a young unarmed man was shot dead during his cousin’s wedding party by a police officer in Panjgore district, Balochistan province last month. The Assistant Sub Inspector accused of the shooting has defended his own authority regarding who he does and does not […]

BANGLADESH: Twelve men are detained and tortured by police under fabricated charges

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that twelve men were illegally arrested and tortured while in detention at the Kotowali police station in Jessore district. Two of the detainees’ hands were broken as a result, and no arrangement of medical treatment has been made the by authorities. No attempt has been […]

BANGLADESH: Two men arbitrarily detained and tortured by police to elicit bribes

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that two men were detained for four days by the police without charge or legal record, and beaten severely each day to elicit bribes. The men were then confronted with fabricated charges and released only after they paid large fines. The debt has caused one […]

SRI LANKA: Nationalists call for the use of choppers and machetes

“We may have to take choppers and machetes, we will have to attack with choppers those who jump over the boundaries,” chanted a group of people from Hela Urumaya, (a Sinhala heritage party), gathered in front of the British High Commission to protest the visits of the British Foreign Secretary, David Milliband and his French […]

PAKISTAN: Three political activists are found murdered after daylight abduction

[NOTICE: The AHRC has developed this automatic letter-sending system using the “button” below. We encourage you to send your appeal letters via fax or post to them. Fax numbers and postal addresses of the Pakistan authorities are attached below with this appeal. Thank you.] Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed […]

BURMA: Journalist jailed on wrong charge for shooting video of referendum vote

Dear friends,  Last week the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) issued an appeal on the case of two journalists jailed in Burma for trying to help people left homeless after Cyclone Nargis to visit international agencies. In this appeal we bring the case of another journalist jailed in Burma, in his case for taking video […]

PAKISTAN: Military henchmen kill three farmers and injure 27 others

[NOTICE: The AHRC has developed this automatic letter-sending system using the “button” below. We encourage you to send your appeal letters via fax or post to them. Fax numbers and postal addresses of the Pakistan authorities are attached below with this appeal. Thank you.] Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information […]

NEPAL: Dalit woman assaulted, publicly humiliated and forced to eat human excreta

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Jagaran Media Center (JMC), a human rights organisation in Nepal concerning the case of a Dalit woman who was assaulted, publically humiliated and forced to eat her own excreta by the villagers. It is reported that Mrs. Kalli Kumari was accused of practising […]

BURMA: Two journalists imprisoned for helping cyclone victims visit international aid groups

Dear friends,  In June 2008 after Cyclone Nargis devastated the Burma delta, a group of homeless residents went to request assistance from offices of international agencies in Rangoon. At that time, two reporters for local news journals went along with them. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) in this appeal is bringing you details of […]

BURMA: Nine people convicted without admissible evidence over protests

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has closely followed and issued appeals on many of the cases that arose from the September 2007 nationwide protests against military dictatorship in Burma. Here we bring you details of a number of related cases that were among the large numbers of those decided late in 2008. […]

PAKISTAN: A young couple is in hiding after a tribal court sentenced them to death for their inter-tribal marriage

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that two young Pakistanis who chose to marry out of their tribal boundaries are currently in hiding, after the leaders of both tribes sentenced them to death in a jirga, or tribal court. The pair has a baby, and the husband’s family members have […]

BURMA: Citizenship of family revoked and members given long jail sentences

Dear friends,  In recent weeks there has been a great deal of news internationally about the plight of Rohingya leaving from western Burma in boats whom navy and security personnel of Thailand have pushed back into the ocean. In order to illustrate some of the problems that they face in Burma, the Asian Human Rights […]

BURMA: Man jailed over footage of army-confiscated farmlands

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has obtained details of the charging, sentencing and imprisoning of a man in Burma for helping farmers to lodge complaints about confiscation of land in the central part of the country. Ko Zaw Htay was found guilty of giving out official secrets and sentenced to ten years’ […]

PAKISTAN: A girl was raped and kidnapped by the relatives of a minister and her whereabouts are unknown

[NOTICE: The AHRC has developed this automatic letter-sending system using the “button” below. We encourage you to send your appeal letters via fax or post to them. Fax numbers and postal addresses of the Pakistan authorities are attached below with this appeal. Thank you.] Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information […]