Tag: Rule of Law / Justice
Brunei a throwback to an age of absolute monarchy
With a swing of his powerful arm, a prison guard landed a wicked-looking cane on the back of a dummy dressed in the white uniform of convicts in Brunei.
“It doesn’t hurt as much as you think,” he said.
Earlier this month, the International Convention Centre in Brunei’s capital, Bandar Seri...
Thailand: Abhisit, Suthep charged in 2010 red shirt rally crackdown
Bangkok — Thai prosecutors indicted former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and deputy prime minister Suthep Thaugsuban on Monday for ordering crackdowns on the 2010 red shirt protests that left at least 92 people dead.
The indictments are based on a report compiled by the Department of Special Investigation covering the...
Indonesia: Disturbing report reveals details about ‘genocide’ in West Papua
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has released a report into human rights abuses against West Papuans by the Indonesian military in 1977 and 1978, saying what occurred amounted to genocide.
The Hong Kong-based organisation called for an ad hoc human rights court to be set up to hear the...
Cambodian Authorities Violently Disperse Protests over Shooting Death
Authorities in Cambodia's capital on Friday violently cracked down on a group of protesters demanding justice for a man shot dead after police opened fire at the sidelines of an opposition rally last month, witnesses said.
Security forces forcefully dispersed dozens of villagers and monks who had gathered at the...
U.N. reviews military tribunals
GENEVA, Switzerland, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Military tribunals, convened outside the civilian justice system, need to conform to basic standards for due process, a U.N. rights official said from Geneva.
Gabriela Knaul, U.N. special envoy on judicial independence, said U.N. member states need to enact tighter principles to govern military...
Malaysia: Drop Charges for Film Screening
(Bangkok) – The Malaysian authorities should immediately drop charges against a rights activist accused of showing a film about Sri Lanka’s civil war without Censorship Board approval, Human Rights Watch said today.
Lena Hendry, of the human rights group Pusat KOMAS, was charged under the Film Censorship Act for organizing...
Myanmar’s Drive for Peace
KUALA LUMPUR — With Myanmar coming out of the cold after five decades of military rule, President Thein Sein and his deputies are eager to show the world they are making progress on political reforms. The latest government ploy is to pressure minority groups — through a buildup of...
Thailand Hit by Mass Protests over Amnesty Bill
At least ten thousand protesters have hit the streets in central Thailand to protest a proposed amnesty bill that would provide amnesty for actions since the 2006 coup. Critics believe that the bill is aimed at allowing Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s brother, Thaksin Shinawatra to return to Thailand.
Thaksin was...
Amnesty slams Vietnam’s worsening rights record
Authoritarian Vietnam has stepped up an alarming crackdown on domestic dissent even as it seeks a seat on the UN Human Rights Council, Amnesty International said Thursday.
The one-party Communist state is using a raft of draconian legislation to clamp down on a growing number of citizens who seek to...
Malaysia: For some, liberal Muslims are the real extremists
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 7 — Liberal Muslims were “extremists” similar to those resorting to violence, according to an activist from Islamist group Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) who sought to denounce the former group’s moderate tag.
According to Gombak Isma activist Umar Hakim Mohd Tajuddin, the Islamic approach taken by liberal...
