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SRI LANKA: Man mercilessly beaten by the Teldeniya police who then threatened him should he seek help from the human rights community 

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has come to learn of an appalling case of police brutality and torture of a man whom they accused of having stolen goods. When the man repeated t...

SRI LANKA: Police join abuser to further victimise a 14-year-old boy 

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the assault of a 14-year-old boy by a local businessman, who forced the boy to work for him on 29 April 2006, ...

SRI LANKA: Open letter to the Attorney General — the case of Lalitha Rajapakse

AHRC-OL-013-2006 May 15, 2006      Open letter to the Attorney General The Hon. Mr. K. C. Kamalasabesan Attorney General Attorney General’s Department Colombo 12 Sri Lanka Fax: +94 11 2 436 ...

UPDATE (Sri Lanka): Harassment of family for their pursuit of justice in torture case 

Dear friends, On 4 May 2006, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) informed our network about 18-year-old Samantha Perera, who was illegally arrested by the Bandaragama police, detained for four da...

SRI LANKA: Attack on an editor of a provincial newspaper 

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has come to learn of an attack on an editor of a local newspaper in Sri Lanka, following his attempt to report on illegal construction in his are...

SRI LANKA: Human Rights Council a new forum to discuss Sri Lanka’s human rights record

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 11, 2006 AS-105-2006 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) SRI LANKA: Human Rights Council a new forum to discuss Sri Lanka’s human rights record An a...

UNITED NATIONS: People’s engagement with Human Rights Council must now begin

The new Human Rights Council was elected on May 9, 2006. According to the General Assembly Resolution of April 3, 2006,  When electing members of the Council, Member States shall take into account th...

SRI LANKA: Presidential immunity an expression of legalised tyranny guaranteed by 1978 Constitution

The electoral victory of Sri Lanka’s United National Party (UNP) in 1977 created what is now commonly known as ‘elective dictatorship’. This dictatorship was made permanent through t...

SRI LANKA: Failure to pay bribe leads to family being assaulted by the Saliyawewa police 

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned of a case in Sri Lanka involving a policeman and a home guard arriving at the home of a family in an inebriated state. They then accu...

SRI LANKA: Illegal arrest and detention by the police on politician’s request 

  Dear friends, On 31 March 2006, at around 11am, Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Jayampath and a constable visited Mr. Wijewardena’s boutique and queried his identity. When he told them, they asked him...

SRI LANKA: Torture of an 18-year-old by the Bandaragama police 

Dear friends, On 24 April 2006, at about 9:00am, four persons visited Samantha Perera’s home. One was a policeman from Colombo; one was a policeman from Bandaragama; one was working at the Colombo po...

SRI LANKA: Open letter to the Minister of Constitutional Affairs and the Ministry of Law Reforms on proposed Bill of Rights

AHRC-OL-012-2006 May 3, 2006 Open letter to the Minister of Constitutional Affairs and the Chairperson of the Law Reform Commission Dear Sir & Madam, Re: Proposed bill of rights The Asian Human Ri...

SRI LANKA: UN Special Rapporteur calls for urgent measures to end political killings and to strengthen protection for human rights in Sri Lanka 

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Professor Philip Alston, today called on the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (...

SRI LANKA: The thirteenth anniversary of the violent death of a gross human rights abuser

On the 1st May, 1993, R. Premadasa, the executive president of Sri Lanka, was killed in a massive bomb blast while participating in the May Day public activities.  The blast also killed and injured m...

UPDATE (Sri Lanka): Absence of a functioning human rights commission in Sri Lanka 

SRI LANKA: Political undermining of the Human Rights Commission; absence of leadership within the Human Rights Commission; government control; failure to implement the 17th Amendment ——...

: SRI LANKA: An open letter to DIG Kandy; Cruelty towards a family by the police

 first seriously injuring two of the family members, leaving permanent injuries on one and thereafter fabricating charges against the victims themselves by filing a case, 73456 MC, at the Teldeniya. ...

SRI LANKA: Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Commission has ceased to function – what will you do about it?

This is to bring to your notice that the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, which is your counterpart in that country, has ceased to function as the time of office of the earlier commissioners, cha...

SRI LANKA: Escalation of violence and the absence of human rights monitoring bodies in Sri Lanka

As the violence has escalated within the last few days and the lives of many are affected by the actions of all sides, the issue that comes to the forefront is the absence of any human rights monitori...

SRI LANKA: The murder of the Inspector and his wife calls for drastic changes in the police hierarchy including the replacement of the IGP in order to ensure rule of law and witness protection

The murder of Inspector of Police (IP) Douglas Nimal and his wife, who with several other police officers were making allegations of high ranking police officers being involved in drug trafficking, ca...

SRI LANKA: Sri Lanka faces a problem far greater than the escalation of violence

Violence is escalating in Sri Lanka, with an attack by a suicide bomber in Colombo on the army headquarters that has seriously injured the army commander and killed many others. In retaliation, the Go...