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NEPAL: Police torture two men in front of a crowd and threaten human rights defenders in Morang

July 21, 2009

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-086-2009

 

22 July 2009
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NEPAL: Police torture two men in front of a crowd and threaten human rights defenders in Morang

ISSUES: Torture; police negligence; human rights defenders; 
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned from Advocacy Forum, a human rights organisation based in Kathmandu, that two men were detained, severely beaten and humiliated in front of a crowd by the police. The officers refused the men access to their families and to proper medical attention. Several human rights defenders then received threats via telephone, warning them against taking up the case. The police also forcibly deleted video evidence of the beatings and pressured several people, including members of political parties, to issue statements clearing them of blame.

CASE DETAILS: (According to a local NGO)

On July 12, 2009 Sushan Limbu, 23, was asked to meet the owner of the local Holiday Inn, Bishnu Karkil. When he arrived he was swiftly arrested on charges relating to a dispute with Karkil a few weeks earlier and was taken to the Area Police Post, Urlabari, Morang District.

At around 7am the next morning we are told that the police beat Limbu and another detainee, Bhakta Rai, for about an hour inside a detention cell. At around 9am, after orders were allegedly given by an Inspector Chakra Basnet, they were beaten again outside the police post in front of a crowd of around 500 people. Both detainees were systematically humiliated: they were forced to strip down to their underwear and to crawl on their knees and elbows on a pebbled and concrete surface for an hour, severely injuring their knees and elbows. They were beaten with iron rods and bamboo sticks, punched, and kicked by officers wearing boots. Limbu sustained wounds in his right eye, face, elbows, knees, buttocks and neck, and several witnesses were able to record the abuse on their mobile phones.

After the incident, the police wouldn't let their victims families see them. They took the men to the Urlabari Primary Health Care Treatment Center, but there they were examined in the presence of the inspector and doctors did not prescribe any treatment. It is also alleged that the police wrote the medical report themselves, which the doctor then signed.

On July 15 after repeated appeals from Limbu’s sister, Sita Limbu, the police allowed the victims to be treated at the Birat Nursing Home in Biratnagar. A Dr. Pradhan referred them to Koshi Zonal hospital but the police took Limbu back into custody, first to the Morang District Police office, then back to the Urlabari Area Police Post.The severe wounds to his knees, elbows and buttocks can be clearly seen in photographs taken when Limbu visited the nursing home.

There is a distinct possibility that the police are continuing to physically and mentally torture the men. Efforts to ensure the welfare of Bhakta Rai have failed; the police have prevented human rights organisations’ representatives from seeing him. Informal reports suggest that his condition is more critical than that of Limbu.

We are informed that officers have threatened to file charges against Limbu under the Arms and Ammunition Act, and are said to have taken photographs of him with a weapon in his hands.

After hearing of the torture, representatives of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Advocacy Forum and other human rights organisations visited Birat Nursing Home and met the victim on July 15. On July 17 several local defenders received phone calls warning them not to bring up the case. Inspector Basnet visited Limbu’s family and forcibly deleted the video footage of the public beating from their mobile phone. The police have since asked civilians and certain political party leaders to make statements claiming that Limbu was beaten by the public; at the time of this report they had collected at least 116 signatures.

On July 17 the victim successfully filed an application with the District Court seeking an order for a physical and mental check-up. On July 29 Sita Limbu filed a habeas corpus writ application at the Appellate Court, Biratnagar, on behalf of the two victims. The court accepted the application and ordered the police to present the victims before the court within 24 hours, so the next day they were produced after hastily-arranged treatment at Koshi Zonal Hospital. However the court then simply directed that the treatment continue, and that record of it be produced, and expressed no interest in the cause of the injuries.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

This case of police torture illuminates the legal and procedural flaws in Nepal's system of justice. It shows how the police commit extreme forms of violence against civilians, then systematically destroy evidence and fabricate accusations against those who complain. It also highlights the difficulties that a victim must face in accessing legal and humanitarian help from anywhere, including from the courts and human rights organisations.

The actions of the court so far expose a regrettable lack of concern for those who have undergone brutal treatment at the hands of police. In Nepal the courts can order treatment for detainees, and more. When a victim shows such obvious signs of abuse, protection and direct immediate medical treatment should be ensured and the statement of the victims recorded. Leaving the victims and the quality of their care to those accused of torture is a gross and uncompassionate act. The court has denied the victims their first opportunity to speak about the incident and have failed to protect them from further possibly life threatening harm.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please send letters to the authorities named below expressing your concern in this case. The AHRC is also sending a letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment calling for his intervention.

To support this appeal please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear _______,

NEPAL: Police torture two men in front of a crowd and threaten human rights defenders in Morang

Names of victims:
1. Sushan Limbu, 23 years old, permanent resident of Urlabari Village Development Committee (VDC) -2, Morang district
2. Bhakta Rai, from Pathari VDC-1, Morang district

Names of alleged perpetrators:
1. Inspector Chakra Basnet
2. Police officer Bhesh Raj (rank unknown)
3. Police officer Seban (rank and surname unknown)
And other police officers at the Area Police Post, Urlabari, Morang District.

Date of incident: 12 to 17 July, 2009 (2066/3/28 according to the Nepalese calendar)
Place of incident: Morang District

I am writing to express my concern regarding the use of torture, of threats and general negligence exhibited by certain officers in Morang. I am informed that Sushan Limbu and Bhakta Rai were detained by the police and beaten for several hours, first in their cells and later in public, in front of a large crowd. The physical and mental torture resulted in severe injuries (documented in photographs).

I am aware that the police denied the victims adequate medical attention despite their urgent need for care and denied them access to their families, and that one officer forcibly erased video evidence of the beatings from the mobile phones of witnesses. Officers have also reportedly pressured several people, including members of political parties, to issue statements blaming the public for the beating, and not the police. The courts in this matter have done little to protect the victims from their alleged abusers.

I am concerned that several human rights defenders who visited Limbu in hospital have received threatening phone calls warning them against pursuing this case. It is also alleged that the police are continuing to torture Limbu and threatening to frame him for the possession of a weapon. All of these incidents are unacceptable violations of human rights. I therefore request that:

1. The victims be provided proper medical treatment;
2. The perpetrators be suspended from active duty immediately;
3. An inquiry be held into the entire incident;
4. The victims be relocated and transferred to Morang DPO as they are at risk of further torture;
5. The court records the statement of the victims and the doctors who treated them;
6. The security of the victims, their relatives and the involved lawyers be ensured.

Yours sincerely,

_________


PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Inspector General of Police
Police Head Quarters, Naxal
Kathmandu
NEPAL
Fax: +977 1 4415593
E-mail: ranaob@nepalpolice.gov.np or info@nepalpolice.gov.np

2. Attorney General
Office of Attorney General
Ramshahpath
Kathmandu
NEPAL
Fax: +977 1 4262582
E-mail: attorney@mos.com.np

3. Minister of Home Affairs
Ministry of Home Affairs
Singha Darbar
Kathmandu
NEPAL
Fax: +977 1 4211264 or 4211232
E-mail: homegon@wlink.com.np

4. Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs
Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs
Singha Durbar
Kathmandu
NEPAL
Fax: +977 1 4220684
E-mail: molaw@wlink.com.np

5. Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission
Pulchowck
Lalitpur
NEPAL
Fax: +977 1 55 47973
E-mail: complaints@nhrcnepal.org or nhrc@nhrcnepal.org

6. Senior Superintendent of Police
Police HR Cell, Human Rights Cell
Nepal Police
Kathmandu
NEPAL
Fax: +977 1 4415593
E-mail: hrcell@nepalpolice.gov.np

7. Head of Mission
Office of the United Nations' High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal (OHCHR)
Museum Road
Chhauni,
G.P.O. Box 24555 Kathmandu
NEPAL
Fax: +977 1 4670712 or 4670713

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Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)


Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-086-2009
Countries :
Issues :
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.