Hong Kong, China — The assassination of Benazir Bhutto, leader of one of the best known political parties in Pakistan set to contest the election scheduled for Jan. 8, reflects the nature of the repression and the absence of the rule of law in the country.

Hong Kong, China — Some months ago, Le Monde reported that a man in Russia had been jailed for an "excessive sense of justice" after protesting the brutal treatment of demonstrators. A new study has hit upon this, and applied the notion of mental illness not to persons but to legal and political life in Burma.

Hong Kong, China — As the Muslim world celebrated Eid and the Western world celebrates Christmas, Pakistan's forcibly ousted chief justice, Iftehkar Chowdhury, is being treated as a prisoner. Held under house arrest, he has not been allowed even to visit the mosque to perform his religious duties.

Sylhet, Bangladesh — Two statues of the Hindu god Vishnu were stolen from the Zia International Airport in Dhaka Saturday at midnight, while under "tight security." The loss and subsequent ineffective investigation reflect the all-pervasive systemic failures in Bangladesh.

Hong Kong, China — Sri Lanka urgently needs a U.N. human rights monitoring mission to resuscitate the police and their criminal investigation capacity, severely damaged by political interference. Contrary to government fears, this would not endanger the nation's sovereignty.

Hong Kong, China — Hundreds of people blockaded the National Assembly in Bangkok on Dec. 12, where the unelected legislature, consisting largely of serving and former military officers and bureaucrats, was set to pass a flurry of highly regressive bills before stepping down next year.

Hong Kong, China — After concluding a two-week visit inspecting Indonesia's correctional facilities, Manfred Nowak, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture, expressed "extreme concern" over the juvenile judicial system. The age of criminal responsibility is set at eight years of age.

Hong Kong, China — Pakistan's dismissed chief justice, Iftekhar Chowdhury, has been named Lawyer of the Year by a prominent U.S. law journal. It is hoped this will bring international attention and support to his country's embattled legal profession.

Sylhet, Bangladesh — "Shall we not be allowed even to bury the dead?" moaned a man to reporters in front of a collapsed building in Dhaka. He had been waiting eight days to claim the body of his brother from the rubble of the Rangs building, which had crumbled and killed workers hired to demolish the illegal structure.

Manila, Philippines — The report of the United Nations Children's Education Fund about violations of human rights committed by the Philippine military against children in areas of armed conflict is deeply disturbing. These acts are condemnable to the highest order.

Hong Kong, China — The continuing killings and disappearances in Sri Lanka are an indication of the insincerity of the Sri Lankan government toward resolving these horrendous crimes. In the past several months, numerous reports have been published with information about the victims.

Hong Kong, China — Tourist brochures portray Burma as a mystical land full of unseen wonders and tall tales about amazing imaginary creatures, from giant serpents to magical birds. But it was a different sort of fantasy the government spun stories about in Geneva this week: a far more modern, albeit no less implausible entity.

Hong Kong, China — In October 1991, the warring factions in Cambodia and 17 concerned countries gathered in Paris to sign, in the presence of the secretary-general of the United Nations, a set of agreements to end the war in Cambodia.

Varanasi, India — Nothing appeared wrong at first when Pawan Singh and his wedding party gathered at a hall in Varanasi, India, for his marriage ceremony on Nov. 26. But things went terribly wrong when his previous wife showed up and stirred up a brawl that involved journalists and armed guards.

Manila, Philippines — In its year-end report on the Philippines, human rights watchdog Karapatan noted the decline in the number of human rights violations this year, with 68 victims of extrajudicial killings and 26 enforced disappearances compared to 185 killings and 93 disappearances in 2006.

Bangkok, Thailand — The world is marking International Human Rights Day on Monday, but for the people in Burma, the thought of joining in the worldwide celebrations on this day is a distant dream. Many of those who would celebrate are in detention or in hiding.Democracy an

Hong Kong, China — Munir Malik, former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan, who was arrested for protesting the removal of Supreme Court judges, suffered serious injuries that have led to renal failure after being tortured while in military custody.

Sylhet, Bangladesh — The military-backed government of Bangladesh is sending mixed messages in its administration of justice. On one hand teachers have been convicted and imprisoned for influencing students to protest.

Hong Kong, China — While scientists and health practitioners have found ways to cure or alleviate many forms of mental illness, when it comes to political lunacy we have made few advances, and least of all in Asia. As in the case of an otherwise psychologically healthy pe

Hong Kong, China — A high-level committee in Thailand is gearing up to recommend that people who enabled the killing of thousands in 2004 and thereafter be held criminally liable. It has in its sights former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and other parties to his "war on

Nagercoil, India — It seems that historical injustices permeate the existence of all humanity. What happens when a section of humanity is violently plucked from its motherland and transplanted to another region in dreadfully subhuman conditions?

Colombo, Sri Lanka — Last Saturday two significant events took place, revealing the contradictions and tensions within Sri Lankan society. The first was an award ceremony in the Presidential Secretariat.

Hong Kong, China — The short-lived revolt in Manila last week, led by a soldier-turned-senator, will be added to the Philippines' history of dozens of coup attempts since democracy was restored in 1986. All of these military-led attempted coups were crushed.Unlike the rec

Hong Kong, China — From Jawaharlal Nehru to Manmohan Singh, Indians have been served by 17 prime ministers. All of them voiced concern for the nation's children; every year the country observes Nov.

Sylhet, Bangladesh — Bangladesh will no longer allow protests or processions from victims of the recent cyclone, a government official said Friday, after starving villagers in the disaster-hit area held demonstrations demanding food and relief.Maj. Gen.

Hong Kong, China — The attack on the printing press of the Sunday Leader on the outskirts of Colombo last week, as well as the manner in which the attack was carried out, comes as no surprise. Any form of violence can be perpetrated in present-day Sri Lanka.

Hong Kong, China — Thailand's coup leader has uncovered a new and serious threat to national security. No, it's not imminent bloodshed of the sort that was supposedly about to tear the country asunder last year, obliging him to play the part of reluctant gentleman usurper.

Beijing, China — "Writers are the engineers of the human soul," said former Soviet Communist Party leader Joseph Stalin. Perhaps in recognition of this, China requires professional writers to join the Chinese Writers Association and to produce works in alignment with gove

Hong Kong, China — Healthcare is a basic universal right to which everyone should be entitled regardless of their wealth, creed or age. Yet there is a clear distinction in Indonesia about who has access to healthcare, a distinction based on wealth.

Hong Kong, China — Last week, the All India Youth Federation -- the youth wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) -- organized a protest against a big retail outlet in Trivandrum, in India's Kerala state. As is usual at such events, the protesters pelted buildings wi

Hong Kong, China — Every move that General Pervez Musharraf has taken for the singular purpose of his own survival has plunged Pakistan into a greater state of lawlessness. Strangely, Musharraf seems to believe that an independent judiciary is an obstacle to stability.

Sylhet, Bangladesh — "We no longer have any house in Amtoli...it is quite impossible to believe that once there was any home in the locality! All are destroyed; nothing is left!

Hong Kong, China — In the third week of November 2004, two assassinations took place in Sri Lanka. One was that of Justice Sarath Ambepitya, a High Court judge, and the other a witness, Gerard Perera, who was to give evidence before a High Court.The trial into the murder

Seoul, South Korea — A North Korean defector who endured decades of brutal confinement in the country's cruelest gulag has accused South Korea of ignoring the humanitarian plight facing hundreds of thousands of political prisoners in the communist country.In a testimony in

Hong Kong, China — At a meeting in Singapore last week, Burma's defense minister iterated that persons taken into custody over the protests in his country of recent months had not been arrested but held "only for questioning." Perhaps because it was intended to deflect ce

Beijing, China — A panel of the U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution last week calling for a moratorium on executions.

Colombo, Sri Lanka — Two years ago, when I last made the journey to Jaffna in Sri Lanka's Northern Province by air, the passengers on board the aircraft were cheerful and prosperous-looking expatriate Tamils, returning to Jaffna to renew family ties. Most of the passengers th

Hong Kong, China — The Khmer Rouge tribunal has now arrested five top Khmer Rouge leaders who are charged with crimes against humanity and/or war crimes. All but one have denied the charges.They are, in the chronological order of their arrests, Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch,

Majuwara, India — Majuwara village, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, is known for its forest-dwelling community, the Vanvasi. It is also infamous as a base for Naxalite insurgent activities within Uttar Pradesh and the neighboring state of Bihar.The Naxalites, broad

Qingdao, China — Exemption from prosecution for remarks made while defending accused criminals in court -- a standard protection for lawyers worldwide -- has been explicitly denied in the newly amended Chinese Lawyers Law. Lawyers may say nothing in court deemed harmful

Sylhet, Bangladesh — Members of the armed forces are enjoying their jobs more than ever since Bangladesh came under emergency rule last January. "We didn't have the real taste of our jobs until the state of emergency was declared in the country," an army officer confided to a

Hong Kong, China — Last week this column described 48 cases of police torture reported within the last year in southern Sri Lanka, in an area completely under the control of the Sri Lankan government. These cases demonstrate the widespread practice of torture, mostly for ve

Hong Kong, China — A former senator this week decried the treatment of the 2 million or so migrant workers now in Thailand, most of whom have come from Burma. In a Bangkok Post article, Jon Ungphakorn offered up some instances of abuse in factories and on fishing boats to s

Hong Kong, China — Corruption is not a new phenomenon in the Philippines. Mention the name Marcos and associations with corruption, along with human rights abuses and impunity, will most likely spring to mind.

Colombo, Sri Lanka — Reports from the north and east of Sri Lanka, where major military confrontations between the government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have been taking place over the past two years, highlight the sufferings and terror of the people. Vir

Manila, Philippines — A Philippines lawmaker said last week that Manila business groups that are collaborating with Japanese transnational corporations and investors, and who will benefit along with their Japanese counterparts from the ratification of the controversial Japan-P

Hong Kong, China — Apate is the Greek goddess that personifies deceit and fraud. Her Roman equivalent was Fraus.

Sylhet, Bangladesh — Bangladesh is a factory for non-governmental organizations. More than 60,000 local NGOs are registered with various departments of the government in this country with a population of around 140 million.

Hong Kong, China — I have analyzed the narratives of torture cases sent by some Sri Lankan human rights groups that work on police torture issues in the South. Altogether there have been 48 cases reported by these groups, which are now available on the Web site of the Asian

Hong Kong, China — The imposition of a state of emergency by Pakistan's military government on Nov. 3 is nothing less than the thinly disguised imposition of martial law; it is the fifth time that martial law has been imposed in the country's 60-year history.Through the P