Hong Kong, China — A Burmese-language monthly published in Bangkok carried a letter from an unnamed senior lawyer practicing in Rangoon. According to the author, to be selected for the test to become an apprentice judge a lawyer must pay the selecting panel 3 million kyat – upwards of US$2,500.

Kochi, India — James Augustine, a school principal in Kerala, India, was killed on July 19 by political party cadres who stormed into a teachers’ training camp to protest the government’s education policies. Sadly, murder, assault and abduction are common in Indian politics.

Hong Kong, China — Sri Lankan police questioned human rights activists this week over statements the police construed as “attempts to demoralize the armed forces,” confirming fears that the government intends to use the legal system to target such groups.

Hong Kong, China — The killing of Yapa Koseng in a vehicle parked at an army base in southern Thailand has attracted interest among news media and human rights groups, particularly since a doctor speaking at a postmortem inquest hearing indicated that his fatal injuries could have been caused only by savage torture.

Hong Kong, China — The daughters of slain Filipino peasant activist Eddie Gumanoy – Rose Anne, 21, and Fatima, 17 – were traveling to the city of Cavite on July 3 when they realized they were being followed. They sent a text message to their mother Maria to meet them at a mall, but the two sisters never arrived.

Hong Kong, China — Aminul Islam is an eight-year-old, third-grade student. On July 8, his teacher got annoyed when he failed to answer two questions. Her punishments left the boy with swollen hands and legs, bleeding eyes and a severe fever. This is not uncommon in Bangladesh, where teachers are from the lowest social strata.

Nakhonratchasima, Thailand — Thailand’s 2008 Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act forbids the abduction, exploitation, deception and abuse of anyone, with a special mention for children. But with a rich resource of defenseless women, children and young boys from Burma, China, Laos and Thailand, human traffickers have operated for decades.

Hong Kong, China — A clash between Pakistan's new government and the country's Supreme Court is unfolding over the death penalty. On July 2, the Cabinet of Pakistan made the decision to abolish the death penalty and commute current death sentences to life imprisonment. But the Court has rejected the decision.

Hong Kong, China — Prosecutors in Burma can put together a charge of sedition for just about anything: complaining publicly about increased fuel prices or holding talks on their country’s future. So six men who tried to assemble some people and discuss workers’ rights last year should perhaps have seen what was coming.

Hong Kong, China — Renowned Cambodian poet Krom Ngoy noted abuses in the society of his time in the early 20th century and urged his people to abandon them: the rich abusing the poor, the physically strong abusing the weak and officials abusing the people. Yet this habit of abuse remains alive in Cambodian society today.

Bangkok, Thailand — Two months after Cyclone Nargis hit Burma, more than 1 million victims have yet to receive any assistance. The World Food Program warns that almost 1 million people will need food assistance for at least six months. The international community is suspended in limbo while the people of Burma limp on.

Hong Kong, China — Two indicators are widely considered in measuring the legitimacy of a government: first, the way it assumed power and second, its effectiveness in meeting the people’s needs and expectations. The government of Bangladesh meets neither test, except in the eyes of the military.

Bangkok, Thailand — Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) says: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” But, 79-year-old-man has been suffering a variety of inhumane tortures and languishing unjust punishments for 19 years, now entering into two decades. The United Nations must take responsibility to flex its muscles on issue of breaking the principle of UDHR by such unmanageable regime in Burma.

Hong Kong, China — The Sri Lanka Press Institution and the Newspaper Publishers Association are offering a reward for information on the assault of a journalist last Monday. The organizations are taking the action because the government has failed to do so, as it has failed to properly investigate similar attacks.

Hong Kong, China — Thankappan's son Gopi died in police custody in 1988. Gopi's body was found inside a police cell at the Cherthala Police Station in Kerala state of India. It took 10 years for his father to have the case investigated, and another 10 before the guilty officers were punished for the crime.

Hong Kong, China — An Oxford economics professor said in a recent article that the best hope for Burma or Zimbabwe is that military officers might overthrow their dictators. Coups are often premised on the fraud that if things can’t get worse, they can only get better. The Burmese are already repeat victims of this fraud.

Kawasaki, Japan — The parents of Megumi Yokota, one of 13 Japanese abducted by North Korea in the 1970s, called Wednesday for a reinvestigation into the cases of Japanese they suspect still remain in North Korea. Many Japanese fear the issue will be forgotten following the U.S. removal of North Korea from its terrorism list.

Hong Kong, China — Critics have debated for more than a decade as to whether Bangladesh is politically "sick" or already "dead." Now the nation is experiencing a spate of illness among high-profile detainees awaiting trial on corruption charges. It seems that suddenly they all need to go abroad for treatment.

Hong Kong, China — Twelve days after a ferry sank off the Philippine coast, scores of corpses retrieved from the capsized ship have yet to be identified. The country lacks skilled forensics experts capable of doing this job – which also hinders its ability to properly investigate crimes.

Hong Kong, China — June 26 was the U.N. Day in Support of Victims of Torture. As far as Sri Lanka is concerned, the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights did nothing to commemorate this day. Instead the statements from the spokesman for the ministry manifested the usual lack of political will to deal with the issue of torture.

Hong Kong, China — Thailand’s human rights agency has been in limbo since September 2006 when the army took power for the umpteenth time. The National Human Rights Commission has not fared well since then. Its confused and contradictory response to the military takeover in some ways typified its deeper problems.

Hong Kong, China — June 26 is the International Day against Torture. Torture thrives when societies see it as a necessity to achieve justice. It seems Indonesia has experienced a change of thinking on this point; in international forums the country has condemned torture, but its record of abuses shows a different picture.

Hong Kong, China — In Bangladesh, the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture has become more a day of celebration than one in which to actually help the victims. Once the day is gone the issue is forgotten and torture, which is a 'normal' part of life, continues.

Hong Kong, China — June 26 is observed as the international day against the practice of torture, a practice that is condemned worldwide. Countries like India and China – which are allegedly gearing up to become the economic powerhouses of the new world order – cannot ignore this fact.

Hong Kong, China — A group of 92 lawyers practicing in the Sri Lankan hill town of Kandy signed a petition this week, complaining about a small group of lawyers touting their services in front of the main gate of the Kandy Court Complex, presenting an obstacle to litigants and other lawyers.

Hong Kong, China — The Asian Human Rights Commission has issued an appeal on behalf of U Ohn Than, who is imprisoned in Kanti in upper Burma. The 60-year-old protested last August against the government’s dramatic increase in fuel prices, precipitating the historic monk-led revolt in September. He is now jailed for sedition.

Hong Kong, China — Since 1993 the international community has been assisting Cambodia in establishing parliamentary democracy, rule of law, and the administrative machinery of government. Fifteen years later, the infrastructure is physically present but is so wracked by corruption that it is largely dysfunctional.

Hong Kong, China — “India has a long tradition of promoting and protecting human rights. It was privileged to be in the forefront of the struggle against apartheid since even before India's independence.” So reads India’s statement upon joining the U.N. Human Rights Council. But the reality today is different.

Hong Kong, China — Kamol, a 49-year-old delivery contractor and activist is missing since February. No government of Thailand any time soon will bring a stop to the forces that made it possible: because like torture, forced disappearance is not an ailment but a symptom and a nationwide feature of what can be labeled as orderly lawlessness.

Hong Kong, China — The Indonesian constitution guarantees its citizens the right to freedom of religion and belief. Despite legal and constitutional provisions, on June 9, Indonesia’s religious affairs minister, Muhammad Maftuh Basyuni, Home Minister Mardiyanto, and Attorney General Hendarman Supanji issued a decree tightening restrictions on the minority Ahmadiyah community. Violations of the decree are subject to up to five years of imprisonment.

Hong Kong, China — Bangladesh continues to face peculiar experiences under the military controlled government. Recent events include the sudden blanket arrest of 20,000 people; the decision to release former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from behind bars; and a huge increase in the defense budget.

Hong Kong, China — The Supreme Court of India is known for using its constitutional mandate and authority to initiate actions of public interest. The court in the past has even taken note of newspaper reports to initiate suo motu actions against suspected breach of law and misuse of office by public servants. This earnestness and enthusiasm has not been thus far reflected in the Indian courts' approach against scrutinising the activities of the courts and its judges. On the contrary, the Indian courts have been very parochial in its approach in facing criticism.

Hong Kong, China — For over a decade now human rights organizations have extensively documented the practice of torture in many Asian countries. It can be said that – except perhaps for South Korea now and Hong Kong – in almost all other countries torture is routinely practiced as a normal method of investigating crimes.

Hong Kong, China — A 75-year-old man fatally fell from a ladder while repairing a leaky roof in the Philippines on May 20 before an approaching typhoon. The way Congressman Crispin Beltran died speaks volumes about the way he lived, for how many 75-year-old congressmen would be repairing their own leaky roof?

Hong Kong, China — On the night of June 4, police officers came to a house in suburban Rangoon, searched it and took away one of the occupants. He is not a wanted robber, murderer or escapee. He is a comedian. Zarganar, famous for his antics on stage and screen, was arrested for his efforts to get relief to cyclone victims.

Hong Kong, China — The government of Uttar Pradesh state in India has a clear mandate and vision to protect its children. With more than 100 projects commissioned by the state’s child development agency and a few million dollars spent each year, one would not expect children to die from malnutrition.

Hong Kong, China — An urgent call is being made for an intervention to save the life of a torture victim who is pursuing complaints against the police at the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka and the High Court of Negombo. Human rights groups are satisfied that there is an imminent danger to the life of Lalith Rajapakse.

Hong Kong, China — There are many forms of arbitrary deprivation of life in Asia other than the death sentence, although it is used frequently, particularly in China and Singapore. These include forced disappearances, killings after arrest and after torture in custody, all of which represent a breakdown of the rule of law.

Hong Kong, China — Among the many responses to the unconscionable blockading of humanitarian assistance to victims of the cyclone that swept through Burma on May 10, perhaps the strangest, if not the most offensive, have been claims that journalists, diplomats and aid workers have exaggerated the death toll.

Hong Kong, China — On May 16, 2006, a petition with over 1 million signatures and thumbprints was presented to the National Assembly in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, calling on the assembly to urgently enact an anti-corruption law that had been in the drafting process for years. Yet still no such law has appeared.

Colombo, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka's recent unsuccessful bid to maintain its seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council has highlighted the deteriorating condition of human rights in the country. While the government cannot be happy with this, it can be seen constructively as a wakeup call to improve the situation on the ground.

Hong Kong, China — The military-controlled government of Bangladesh approved a Voluntary Disclosure Ordinance on Sunday, designed to allow people to report their corrupt deeds to a Truth and Accountability Commission that will then clear them of their wrongdoing.

Hong Kong, China — The success of the BJP in the state Legislative Assembly election in the south Indian state of Karnataka is a lesson to other parties. The progressive, secular, communist and socialist parties all lost their seats to the Hindu fundamentalists. Why? It was a choice between the devil and the deep blue sea.

Hong Kong, China — The Sri Lankan government lost its seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council Wednesday, after coming under intense criticism from many quarters on its human rights record. This defeat indicates that the world is beginning to learn of the enormous repression within the country.

Hong Kong, China — Burma’s military government has by now dramatically compounded the death and misery brought to its country with Cyclone Nargis. Carrying on with the same sort of games it has played against the global community for years, it has caused untold needless loss of life and greatly magnified people’s suffering.

Bangkok, Thailand — International response to Cyclone Nargis, which hit Burma May 2, has been enormous. But the Burmese military regime has not responded appropriately. Much of the international aid is undelivered; some has been misappropriated and sold, and certain ethnic groups are being denied aid altogether.

Seoul, South Korea — South Korea has stepped up its challenge to North Korea over its human rights record even as it considers providing food aid to its famine-stricken neighbor. The state-run human rights watchdog launched an advisory body to consider how to incorporate human rights concerns into its policy toward the North.

Hong Kong, China — Apart from killing human rights and social activists, gunmen in the southern Philippines are carrying out the systematic slaughter of persons accused of involvement in criminal activities and even some who have been the victims of crimes. Dozens have died in such incidents.

Hong Kong, China — Among about two dozen public universities in Bangladesh, the University of Dhaka is considered the best. Yet multiple problems are ruining the careers of many students and teachers at the university, due to political favoritism, irresponsible administrators and the diversion of university funds.

Hong Kong, China — The Indian state of Kerala is referred to as “God’s own country;” but the name is a misfit. The latest problems involve state doctors threatening to abandon patients if not given a raise, and police protecting fake “holy men” with links to high officials. Corruption in public life is considered normal.