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Amnesty South Asia

@amnestysasia

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What happens when a community is denied meaningful labour protections, trapped in debt, excluded from unions, and left dependent on employers for housing and survival?

Amnesty International’s new investigation documents how Malaiyaha Tamil workers in private tea estates in Southern Sri Lanka are facing abuses that may amount to forced labour under ILO standards.

Watch the video. Demand accountability. The Government of Sri Lanka must protect Malaiyaha Tamil tea workers from forced labour and other abuses now!

✍🏽 Links to petition and report in bio. by @amnestysasia

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5 months ago

Bangladesh: Ahead of the 12 Feb elections next week, Amnesty International calls on all political parties to place human rights at the centre of their policy agendas.

Protecting and promoting human rights must be a national priority before, during, and after the elections, regardless of who forms the next government. Human rights cannot be optional.

Amnesty International has published a Human Rights Charter, outlining concrete steps across eight key areas that the next government should take to bring Bangladesh closer to its obligations under international human rights law.

Read the full charter here: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa13/0629/2026/en/

#Bangladesh by @amnestysasia

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8 months ago

Anojan Sivarasa's case raises serious concerns about the application of the death penalty and the arbitrariness of the Saudi criminal justice system, with his initial sentence of five years increased to a death sentence on appeal in less than three months.

Anojan was exercising his right to freedom of expression, and his execution would amount to an arbitrary deprivation of life.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception regardless of the nature of circumstances of the crime; guilt, innocence, or other characteristics of the individual; or the method used by the state to carry out the execution. A graphic showing Anojan Sivarasa in his graduation suit, with text overlaid that says, A Facebook comment. Then a prison sentence. Now, a death sentence. Anojan Sivarasa, a 24-year-old Sri Lankan migrant worker in Saudi Arabia, has been sentenced to death over a social media post deemed insulting to the Prophet Muhammad. The case raises urgent concerns about Saudi Arabia's use of the death penalty. by @amnestysasia

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4 days ago

Malaiyaha Tamil workers in private tea estates in Sri Lanka suffer widespread forms of abuse including intimidation and threats, physical violence and harassment, debt bondage, restrictions on movement, and poor working and living conditions.

These abuses may amount to forced labour.

Malaiyaha Tamils – descendants from workers brought to Sri Lanka from the southern part of India by British colonizers - have long experienced systemic and structural racial discrimination and exclusion, which have made them vulnerable to forced labour.

Read Amnesty’s recent report titled 'Abandoned by the state, trapped in private estates' and share with your networks!

https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/ASA37/1011/2026/en/ by @amnestysasia

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8 days ago

Farzana Rupa was Ekattor Television's chief report, and Mozammel Haque was its managing director. According to media reports, the charges against the two, brought on 7 March, relate to their reporting of the deadly crackdown during the Saphala Square protests in May 2013 on members of Hefazat-e-Islam, a conservative religious movement in Bangladesh. Media reports stated the prosecutor alleged the TV channel aired a 'misleading report', implying there were no casualties, to distract the public from the actual death toll.

Freedom of expression extends to information which some may find offensive, shocking, or disturbing. Respect for this right is essential to ensuring healthy public discourse in a rights-respecting society. Journalists must not be targeted for opinions which are disagreeable, or their perceived links to political parties.

Bangladeshi authorities must immediately drop charges arising from their journalism and protect freedom of expression and media freedom, in line with Bangladesh's international human rights obligations. A black and white photo collage of Farzana Rupa and Mozammel Haque, with text overlaid that says, Journalism is not a crime, drop the ICT charges. On 7 October, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal may frame charges against two journalists, raising serious concerns about criminalizing journalism and stifling independent reporting. by @amnestysasia

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11 days ago

Reacting to the re-arrest of human rights lawyers Imaan Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha just hours after they had been granted bail by the Supreme Court yesterday, Babu Ram Pant, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for South Asia, said:

“Imaan and Hadi’s re-arrest dispels any pretence that the charges against them are anything other than a politically motivated attempt to punish them for their human rights work. Their case demonstrates once again the authorities’ willingness to weaponize the legal system against critical voices.

“These latest charges, brought against them for simply attending a peaceful protest, are not only absurd but an insult to their lifelong commitment to human rights.

“The Pakistani authorities must stop misusing the justice system to target Imaan and Hadi. They must be released immediately and unconditionally, with no further charges to prolong their detention. Imaan and Hadi should be free to meet their friends and family and to do the work they love – representing victims of human rights violations.” by @amnestysasia

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a month ago

PAKISTAN: The Supreme Court’s order today granting bail to human rights lawyers Imaan-Mazari Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha, and the suspension of their sentence, is a welcome step and a long overdue relief towards undoing immense injustice against them. Imaan and Hadi have been unlawfully imprisoned for nearly eight months as a result of their human rights work.

Amnesty International urges the authorities to immediately and unconditionally release them, quash their sentences and ensure that no new charges are brought against them to unlawfully deny them their right to liberty. by @amnestysasia

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Today marks 5 years since the Taliban imposed ban on girls’ education.

5 years of education being denied to millions of girls.

5 years of dreams and aspirations being shattered.

5 years of injustice.

Still, many of them continue to resist by protesting, learning through secret online schools or fleeing abroad to pursue their education.

Stand together with Afghan woman and girls and call on the international community to demand the Taliban to open girls’ schools immediately: https://bit.ly/4fRRio.

#LetAfghanGirlsLearn #OpenGirlsSchools A graphic showing an illustration of a girl with head covering in the middle, with an overlaid text above her that says Girls above the age of 12 remain banned from schools. There are text with dotted line connected to the illustration that says They have been out of school for 1800 days, 5 years, 257 weeks, 60 months. by @amnestysasia

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PAKISTAN: Journalist Sayed Qasim Hashemi and artist Hamed Ehsas, both Afghan nationals who fled Afghanistan immediately after the Taliban takeover, have been missing for over two months, since 4 July, from Islamabad. Since then, their families have not been able to reach them since, and the police authorities have refused to register cases. The circumstances raise concerns that they may have been subjected to enforced disappearance or arbitrary detention.

Pakistani authorities must urgently investigate their disappearance, establish their fate and whereabouts, and provide answers to their families.

✍️ Take action now. by @amnestysasia

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PAKISTAN: The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council’s decision requiring Afghan medical students in Pakistan to return to Afghanistan is patently discriminatory and arbitrary in nature. The consequences of this decision are especially severe for female students, many of whom have already been denied access to higher education in Afghanistan amid Taliban’s ongoing gender persecution and now face the prospect of losing one of the few remaining pathways to pursue their education and profession. Many of these students will have devoted years studying medicine, only to see their education brought to an abrupt and unjustifiable end, with little prospect of being able to resume their studies elsewhere.

Pakistan has obligations under international human rights law to uphold the right to education without discrimination on the basis of national origin. Amnesty International urges the authorities to adopt a humane and practical solution that allows Afghan students, including women and girls, to complete their education. by @amnestysasia

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PAKISTAN: Human rights lawyers Imaan Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha remain behind bars for more than seven months while their appeals languish in Pakistan’s courts. Meanwhile, there are concerns about Imaan’s worsening health and access to adequate medical care.

No one should be imprisoned for peacefully expressing their views.

📢 Demand their immediate and unconditional release and access to urgent healthcare.

✍️ Take action: UA link in bio by @amnestysasia

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a month ago

Sri Lanka: To mark the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, @amnesty joined events in northern Sri Lanka in Kilinochchi and Jaffna.

Regional Director Smriti Singh urged Sri Lankan authorities to breakaway from past practices and ensure that truth, justice and reparations are ensured by the current administration, including by making sure the Office on Missing Persons is reformed and is fit for purpose. The current government has spoken repeatedly about reconciliation. She noted how so far, there remains a significant gap between the government’s rhetoric and concrete action.

She also highlighted the role the international community can play in this journey. International mechanisms can help preserve evidence, support credible investigations, scrutinise domestic processes and push for avenues for accountability where national mechanisms have repeatedly failed. The international community should also continue to use the tools available to it - including engagement with the UN human rights system, international investigative and evidence-preservation mechanisms, and, where appropriate, measures within their national jurisdictions through the principle of universal jurisdiction to pursue accountability for international crimes.

#EnforcedDisappearances #SriLanka #stillnoanswers taken in Sri Lanka by @amnestysasia

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2 months ago