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NEPAL: Torture victim keeps facing death threats by the local police authorities in Kalikot district

March 20, 2007

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

20 March 2007
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UA-091-2007: NEPAL: Torture victim keeps facing death threats by the local police authorities in Kalikot district

NEPAL: Arbitrary arrest and detention; torture; death threats by police; no rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about alleged torture and death threats of Mr. Puradi Prasad Pandey of Kalikot district, Nepal, from December 2006 to the present. The victim was allegedly arrested by the police members of District Police Office (DPO), Kalikot three times on the charge of being suspect of a murder of his neighbour in December and tortured repeatedly by police officers while in detention. Mr. Pandey has been receiving death threats repeatedly to withdraw the case he filed against the three police officers under the Torture Compensation Act for the alleged torture, arbitrary arrest and detention. 

CASE DETAILS:

According to the information we have received, Mr. Puradi Prasad Pandey, a 20-year-old resident of Manma Village Development Committee Ward no. 9, Kalikot district, was threatened to withdraw the case that he has filed against three police officers of District Police Office (DPO) of Kalikot on 23 February 2007 for the alleged torture to which he was subjected during his detainment for a total of 15 days over different intervals following three arrests.

With assistance from local human rights NGO Advocacy Forum, which has also provided him medical treatment, the victim has filed the written petition in District Court of Kalikot under Torture Compensation Act and demand appropriate compensation for the physical and mental sufferings that he received by the police officers. The written petition was against the three police officers--Sub Inspector Mr. Jagat Bahadur Rawal, Police Inspector Man Bahadur Chaudhary and Assistance Sub Inspector Kamal G.C. of District Police Office (DPO), Kalikot--who are the persons who tortured him during detention.

In response to the petition, on 25 February 2007, the district court issued a summon to all the defendants, asking for written replies. Since the court's order for the defendants to prepare written statement regarding the allegation of Mr. Pandey, the victim has started to receive threats by words. On February 26, Assistance Sub Inspector of Police (ASI) Kamal G.C. threatened Mr. Pandey to withdraw the case saying, 'Why did you register the case against police? Do you want to die?' 

At around the same time, the victim also received similar threats from the two other police officers who were listed by the victim as perpetrators. Since February 26 to the present, the victim has received similar threats from these three police officers at various places including the local bazaar and at his house to withdraw the case.

On 27 February 2007, four Maoist people came to the house of the victim and threatened him to withdraw the case that he registered against the police. The District-in-charge of Kalikot, Mr. Bhanu Prasad Pandey, one of the Maoists who came to the victim's house, told him: 'You have to withdraw case against the police if not you will lose your life'.

It has been allegedly reported that the threat against Mr. Pandey (the victim) is associated with a death of Khat Devkota whose body was found near the house of Mr. Pandey on 14 December 2006. According to the residents who live near the place where the body of Khat Devkota was found, they witnessed Khat Devkota and the Maoist District-in-charge Bhanu Prasad Pandy having quarrels on the morning of the death of Khat Devkota; however, the truth remains unknown. The police identified the death of Khat Devkota as a death by accident and they did not send the body to the autopsy.

Two days after the dead body of Khat Devkota was found, Mr. Pandey was arrested by two security personnel of District Police Officer (DPO) Kalikot who came under the command of the Sub Inspector (SI) Jagat Rawal for being a suspect of the killing of Khat Devkota on December 16. Mr. Pandey was handcuffed and brought to the DOP Kalikot while being beaten by police officers, SI Jagat Rawal and another unidentified officer, with a wooden stick for about 20 minutes until he reached to the police station.

At midnight, on 16 December, the SI Jagat Rawal brought the victim out of the custody room to the field and tortured and interrogated him simultaneously. The officer spoke filthy language to him and said that he saw the victim murder Khat Devkota. When the victim denied the accusation, the officer started to beat him severely all over his body, especially on the soles of his feet, his thighs and hips at least 50-60 times with a thick plastic pipe. Later on the victim was locked inside a custody room without being provided any food for that night. On the following morning, the SI Jagat Rawl again brought the victim out of the room and beat him randomly on his back, knees, hips, and other parts of the body, accusing him of being involved in the killing. He was then released later on December 17 at around 5:00 pm.

However, on 22 December 2006, a team of police of DPO Kalikot under the command of SI Jagat Rawal arrested the victim again and handcuffed and took him to the DPO. SI Jagat Rawal and two other police officers allegedly beat and kicked the victim all over his body particularly on his back, knees and hip with a stick on the way to DPO. At the DPO, the police inspector Man Bahadur Chaudhary beat the victim's back and legs for about 20 minutes with a meter-long plastic pipe while accusing the victim of killing Khat Devkota.

At around 10:00 pm on that day, the police inspector took the victim out to the field of the DPO. There the inspector Man Bahadur Chaudhary and Jagat Rawal fixed an iron pipe onto two trees and then tied the victim's legs on the iron pipes, hanging him upside down. Then the police officers started to beat the victim together on both side of the body, especially his legs and back, for about 30 minutes with a plastic pipe and a stick. Because of the severe torture, the victim lost consciousness at that time, and when he awoke he was lying inside of a custody room about two hours later. 

On 31 December, the SI Jagat Rawal again interrogated and tortured him in similar practices at around 9:00 pm and forced him to talk about the involvement of a hotel owner Mahendra Chaulagain of Manma Bazaar, Kalikot district, in the murder. Again, the victim denied his knowledge about the involvement of the man whom the police officers had suggested and was beaten severely for another 90 minutes.

The victim then made a false statement to the police officers, saying that Mahendra Chaulagain is the murderer of Khat Devkota, although he did not know whether it is true or not, in order to escape from further torture. The victim was released on 3 January 2007 with a condition that he has to report to the DPO Kalikot every day.

It has been allegedly reported that while the victim was detained in the DPO Kalikot, he was not allowed to see his family members. Even before he was arrested by the DPO officers, he was not produced any official warrant for his arrest. The victim's family members were also not allowed go inside of the DPO.

According to the information we have received, some other local peoples--Narendra Pandey, Ranga Raj Pandey, Tularaj Pandey, Devi Pandey, Dhanraj Pandey, Nanda Pandey, Saur Pandey and Mahendra Pandey--were arrested by the police on December 22 in relation to the murder of Khat Devkota, and all of them were tortured by the police officers while they were detained. Those people were released on December 23 without being charged.

Yet again, the victim was arrested for the third time by the police officers who came to the victims' house under the command of Jagat Rawal from the DPO Kalikot on January 21. The victim was severely tortured by the officers and forced to confess that the murder was done by Mahendra Chaulagain again. Then the police officers allegedly prepared a document which describes that the murder of Khat Devkota was committed by Mahendra Chaulagain and forced the victim to sign it without explaining about the subject matter of the paper to the victim. The victim was released on January 22.

It has been reported that the victim has kept suffering from the injuries, both physical and mental, caused by the severe torture during his police custody. The thumb of his right leg is not functioning properly. He is also still suffering from the pain on his legs and ears and blue scars and contusions remain on his body. His trauma caused by the police torture and arbitrary arrest has caused him to occasionally attempt suicide.

The victim has been threatened by the police officers and he is very worried about being arrested and tortured by the police officers again.


SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write a letter to the concerned authorities listed below, urging them to provide immediate protection to Mr. Puradi Prasad Pandey, and conduct investigation into the alleged torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, and death threats to the victim by the police officers in Kalikot. Please also urge their action in ensuring that adequate compensation, in line with the international standards, be given to the victim in no time.

To support this appeal, please click here:

Suggested letter:

Dear __________,


NEPAL: Torture victim faces death threats made by the local police authorities in Kalikot

Name of victim: Mr. Puradi Prasad Pandey, a 20 year-old resident of Manma Village Development Committee Ward No.9 in Kalikot district, Nepal
Name of alleged perpetrators:
1. Sub Inspector Mr. Jagat Bahadur Rawal of District Police Office (DPO), Kalikot
2. Police Inspector Man Bahadur Chaudhary of District Police Office (DPO), Kalikot
3. Assistance Sub Inspector Kamal G.C. of District Police Office (DPO), Kalikot
Date of incident: 16 December 2006 to the present
Place of incident: District Police Office of Kalikot, Nepal

I am writing to you to express my grave concern over the alleged arbitrary arrest, torture and death threats of a victim Mr. Puradi Prasad Pandy by the police officers of the District Police Office in Kalikot, Nepal, from Decemer 2006 to the present.

According to the information I have received, the victim was threatened to withdraw the case that he has filed against three police officers of District Police Office (DPO) Kalikot on 23 February 2007 for the alleged torture and arbitrary detention that he was subjected to during his detainment for a total of 15 days over different intervals following three arrests. The victim has filed the case under Torture Compensation Act demanding appropriate compensation for physical and mental sufferings that he received by the police officers.

In the written petition that he filed in District Court of Kalikot on February 23, he listed names of three police officers--Sub Inspector Mr. Jagat Bahadur Rawal, Police Inspector Man Bahadur Chaudhary and Assistance Sub Inspector Kamal G.C. of District Police Office (DPO), Kalikot--as the persons who tortured him during detention.

In response to the petition, on 25 February 2007, the district court issued a summon to all the defendants, asking for written replies. Since the court's order for the defendants to prepare written statement regarding the allegation of Mr. Pandey, the victim has started to receive threats by words. On February 26, Assistance Sub Inspector of Police (ASI) Kamal G.C. threatened Mr. Pandey to withdraw the case saying, 'Why did you register the case against police? Do you want to die?' 

At around the same time, the victim also received similar threats from the two other police officers who were listed by the victim as perpetrators. Since February 26 to the present, the victim has received similar threats from these three police officers at various places including the local bazaar and at his house to withdraw the case. 

On 27 February 2007, four Maoist people came to the house of the victim and threatened him to withdraw the case that he registered against the police. The District-in-charge of Kalikot, Bhanu Prasad Pandey, one of the Maoists who came to the victim's house, told him: 'You have to withdraw case against the police if not you will lose your life'.

It has been allegedly reported that the threat against Mr. Pandey (the victim) is associated with a death of Khat Devkota whose body was found near the house of Mr. Pandey on 14 December 2006. According to the residents who live near the place where the body of Khat Devkota was found, they witnessed Khat Devkota and the Maoist District-in-charge Bhanu Prasad Pandy having quarrels on the morning of the death of Khat Devkota; however, the truth remains unknown. The police identified the death of Khat Devkota as a death by accident and they did not send the body to the autopsy.

Two days later from the incident above, the victim was arrested by the District Police Office and detained for a day while receiving severe torture during the interrogation at the police office on 16 December 2007. He was released on the next day on December 17, but he was arrested again for the second time on December 22 and was detained for 11 days and tortured severely again. He then was arrested for the third times on 21 January 2007 regarding the same incident and interrogated and tortured for several hours and released on the following day.

It has been reported that the victim has kept suffering from the injuries, both physical and mental, caused by the severe torture during his police custody. The thumb of his right leg is not functioning properly. He is also still suffering from the pain on his legs and ears and blue scars and contusions remain on his body. His trauma caused by the police torture and arbitrary arrest has caused him to occasionally attempt suicide. The victim has continued to be threatened by the police officers, and he is very worried about being arrested and tortured by the police officers again.

To the best of my knowledge, arbitrary arrest and detention of citizens is clearly prohibited under article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Also, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) strictly demands the prohibition of torture at any level of state practices and the fulfilment of the state obligation to take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent brutal acts of torture.

The Nepali government is a party to the ICCPR and CAT. Therefore, I strongly urge your actions in ensuring the immediate investigation into the case of arbitrary arrest and torture of the victim. I also urge you to take all necessary actions in providing effective methods to eliminate brutal practice of arbitrary arrest and torture and death threats against the victim by police authorities, and to ensure the rights of the victim to seek appropriate legal remedies in accordance with Nepali law.

I look forward to your prompt and effective response in this matter.
 
Yours sincerely,


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PLEASE SEND COPIES TO:

1. Mr. Krishna Sitaula
Home Minister
Singha Darbar
Kathmandu
NEPAL
Fax: +977 1 4211286
Email: homehmg@wlink.com.np 

2. Mr. Yagya Murti Banjade
Attorney General
Office of Attorney General
Ramshahpath
Kathmandu
NEPAL
Fax: +977 1 4262582
Email: rewtrp@hotmail.com 

3. Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission
Pulchowck, Lalitpur
NEPAL
Fax: +977 1 55 47973
Email: complaints@nhrcnepal.org/ nhrc@nhrcnepal.org 

4. Mr. Om Bikram Rana
Inspector General of Police
Police Head Quarters, Naxal
Kathmandu
NEPAL
Fax: +977 1 4415593
Email: info@nepalpolice.gov.np  

5. Police HR Cell
Human Rights Cell
Nepal Police
Kathmandu
NEPAL
Email: hrcell@nepalpolice.gov.np 

6. Professor Manfred Nowak
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture
Attn: Mr. Safir Syed
C/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 9179016 ((ATTENTION: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR TORTURE)

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-091-2007
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.