Books

J.C. Weliamuna: Executive Director of Transparency International in Sri Lanka and a human rights lawyer [Introduction] In Sri Lanka the legal profession is very much a threatened profession. The recent grenade attack on September 27 on the residence of senior lawyer, Mr. J.C. Weliamuna, once again brought to the notice of everyone how muc...

Illegal Arrest – Illegal Detention – Torture Falsification of Charges by the Moratuwa Police [Introduction] These documents present the case of Sarath Kumar Naidos. The basic chronology is as follows: On July 5, 2008 Sarath was arrested by one police officer in uniform and another in civilian dress; he was assaulted there and then and...

To the total stranger, Sri Lanka is no more than the modern name of an erstwhile British colony called Ceylon. Ceylon then would suggest a key export, tea. But between the story of a colony and its reputation as producer of world class tea, there is much to be said about a continually beleaguered present […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission held its Second Annual Consultation on “Executive Control of the Judiciary and Judicial Corruption in Asia” from the 14th to the 18th of May, 2007. More than twenty guest-speakers from ten Asian countries, from a cross-section of professional backgrounds namely, court judges, doctors and human...

2007 was a year of significant upheaval in the Asian region, with one crisis following fast on the coat-tails of the last. These included the crack-down on peaceful protests in Burma, the battle for the independence of the judiciary and the resulting State of Emergency and political turmoil in Pakistan, and the stark rise in […]

A Pictorial Booklet on the Courageous Movement of the Pakistani Lawyers and the People for the Restoration of the Chief Justice of Pakistan and the Supremacy of the Constitution. The suspension of the Chief Justice Mr. Iftekhar Mohammad Chaudhry on March 9, 2007 by President General Musharraf, who is also the Chief of Army Staff, [&hellip...

* AHRC’s call for a parliamentary debate On May 26, 2007 five persons belonging to the same family were chopped to death in their own home. According to reports the alleged cause of the multiple murders was a land dispute which had gone on for some time. The following day, according to reports, a group […]

During 2006, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed about and acted upon widespread violations of human rights around the Asian region. Issues encountered during the year include endemic torture in Sri Lanka, land-grabbing and evictions in Cambodia, the repression of democratic uprisings and ongoing impunity in Nepal, ...

Printed by Ravaya Publishers and distributed at all bookshops. It consists of 151 pages consisting of 17 chapters and a further chapter explaining the reasons for writing this book. The cover page reproduces a picture taken at Baranas (Varanasi) of mustard plant flowers. Its symbolism to Sri Lankan culture is explained in the chapter enti...

In recent years AHRC and ALRC have published considerable material on Sri Lanka’s legal and justice systems as well as its human rights abuses. AHRC also frequently issues statements on current human rights issues in various countries. During 2005, numerous statements were issued concerning Sri Lanka. Most of these were reproduced i...