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NEPAL: Torture of a student activist by the police in Kavrepalanchok District

April 6, 2006

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

7 April 2006
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UA-122-2006: NEPAL: Torture of a student activist by the police in Kavrepalanchok District

NEPAL: Arbitrary arrest and detention; torture; impunity
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the torture of student activist, Hiraman Lama by the police in Kavrepalanchok District, Nepal on 26 January 2006. After being taken into police custody together with other students, he was brutally beaten by the police which resulted in severe injures to his spinal cord and other parts of the body. Hiraman was released on the same day and then immediately underwent an operation on his spine.  However, he remains hospitalised due to the severe injuries he sustained and is still unable to stand or walk. The victim faces financial difficulties to cover all his medical expenses. There has been no report of any investigation having been launched by the local authorities regarding this case.

Hiraman Lama, aged 23, is in grade 12 at the Kavre Multiple Campus, Banepa and is the vice-chairperson of the All National Free Student Union (ANNFSU), Kavrepalanchok District. Due to the serious political and human rights crisis in Nepal, seven major opposition parties called for a nationwide general strike on 26 January 2006 and many people were expected to join the rally. When Hiraman Lama and some other students were staying in campus road Budol, Banepa, Kavrepalanchok District at about 11:00am of that day, about 10-12 police personnel led by an assistant sub-inspector approached them in a police van. When the students ran away, police threatened that they would open fire on the students (considered as 'Maoist terrorists’) if they did not stop running. Hiraman and other students stopped running and the police then randomly arrested them, while beating them seriously. Hiraman was beaten by police poles and kicked with boots in his back, head, thighs and other parts of the body. Afterwards Hiraman and the other students were put in the police van where they were brutally beaten again. At about 12:20pm, the arrested students, including Hiraman, were first taken to the Area Police Office, where they stayed for 10 minutes, and then transferred to the Kavrepalanchok District Police Office.

In the district police office the students requested the police to provide medical attention to Hiraman but Deputy Superintendent of Police Sanjaya Singh Basnet did not listen to them. After a strong and constant appeal from the students, the police finally took Hiraman to the Dhulikhel Hospital for medical treatment. An x-ray result showed that there was a fracture to his spinal cord. However, the police did not attempt to provide any treatment to Hiraman but simply released him at about 7:00pm on the same day. Upon being released, Hiraman was admitted to the Sheer Memorial Hospital in Banepa, where he underwent an operation on his spinal cord. 

The victim filed a petition with the help of a local human rights organisation at Kavrepalanchok District Court on February 12 under Section 5(3) of the Torture Compensation Act 1996, demanding the government provide physical and mental health checkups and proper treatment to the victim. He also filed a torture compensation case to the district court demanding 100,000 Nepali Rupees (about USD 1,463) as compensation and disciplinary action against the perpetrators. On February 13, the court issued an order for a mental and physical examination at the government hospital. It is unknown whether the police have taken any initiative to investigate the incident. The victim intends to file a first information report (FIR) with the Kavrepalanchok District Police Office against the perpetrators so that an investigation is conducted into the incident.

Hiraman was transferred to the Aurthopedic Hospital in Jorpati, Kathmandu where he is currently receiving medical treatment. He still cannot stand or walk. He has to pay more than 30,000 Nepali rupees (about USD 439) to the hospital for his operation and medical treatment fees at the Sheer Memorial hospital. However, as he is a student, he does not have sufficient money to pay the medical expenses.

Nepal ratified the UN Convention against Torture (CAT) in 1991 and introduced the Torture Compensation Act 1996 in the country. However, provisions of the Act do not meet the international standards defined in the CAT. As its name suggests, this Act only allows the government to provide some compensation and in some cases to cover medical treatment expenses to torture victims only when it is found true but does not criminalise torture as a crime. According to the Act, the victim is expected to produce all evidence against the perpetrator and prove his case which in the existing circumstances of Nepal is impossible. Besides, the maximum amount of compensation is limited to 100,000 rupees, which is inadequate and an insufficient amount for torture victims. Furthermore, there are no independent mechanisms to investigate torture cases. As a result, torture victims cannot file a criminal case against perpetrators under the Act, which means no proper punishment is given to those responsible.   


SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the relevant authorities listed below seeking their immediate intervention in this matter.

Suggested letter:

Dear _________,

NEPAL: Torture of a student activist by the police in Kavrepalanchok District

Name of victim: Mr. Hiraman Lama, aged 23, grade 12 of the Kavre Multiple Campus, Banepa and the vice-chairperson of the All National Free Student Union (ANNFSU), Kavrepalanchok District
Residential address of victim: Sarsukharka Village Development Committee-5, Kavrepalanchok District, Nepal
Name of alleged perpetrators: Police personnel from the Area Police Office and District Police Office in Kavrepalanchok, Nepal
Date of incident: 26 January 2006
Place of incident: In the campus road Budol, Banepa, Kavrepalanchok District and inside of the police van

I write to bring your attention to the torture of a student activist mentioned above by the police in Kavrepalanchok District on 26 January 2006. The victim had to undergo an operation on his spinal cord and is still in hospital receiving treatment as he is unable to stand or walk.

According to the information I have received, the victim was taken into police custody together with other students in campus road Budol, Banepa, Kavrepalanchok District, when 10-12 police personnel randomly arrested the students who were going to participate in the nationwide strike called by the seven major opposition parties. During the process of the arbitrary arrest, the police brutally beat the victim and other students with police poles and kicked them with the boots. They were also repeatedly beaten once inside the police van on the way to the Area Police Office. The victim was severely injured at this time. The students arrested were later transferred to the Kavrepalanchok District Police Office.

The victim was taken to the Dhulikhel Hospital for a medical examinaiton only after strong and repeated appeals from his fellow students. The x-ray result showed that there was a fracture to his spinal cord. However, instead of providing medical treatment, the police took him back to the police station and released him at about 7:00pm on the same day. Upon being released, the victim underwent an operation on his spinal cord at the Sheer Memorial Hospital in Banepa.

The victim filed a petition at Kavrepalanchok District Court on February 12 under Section 5(3) of the Torture Compensation Act 1996 and demanded the government cover his medical expenses. He also filed a torture compensation case at the same district court and demanded disciplinary action against the perpetrators. However, it is unclear whether or not an investigation has even been launched into this matter. The victim faces financial difficulties as he, as a student, simply cannot pay all his medical expenses.  

I therefore request you to immediately intervene in this case and direct relevant government authorities to provide proper medical treatment to the victim and ensure that his medical costs are covered. I also urge you to order a prompt and thorough investigation into this incident and take strong disciplinary/criminal action against the perpetrators.  The victim should also be adequately compensated.   

Lastly, I strongly urge the Government of Nepal to fulfill its international obligations as a state party to the UN Convention against Torture (CAT) and introduce new legislation against torture which criminalizes torture so that torture perpetrators can be tried and punished properly. Even though the Government introduced the Torture Compensation Act 1996, its provisions, as the Act’s name suggests, does not criminalise torture as a crime and only allows the government to provide some compensation and in some cases to cover medical expenses of torture victims. I am also concerned that according to the Act, the victim is expected to produce all evidence against the perpetrator and prove his case which in the existing circumstances of Nepal is impossible. Furthermore, the maximum amount of compensation is limited to 100,000 rupees. Furthermore, there are no independent mechanisms to investigate torture cases. New legislation against torture should be drafted and the existing Torture Compensation Act should also be amended to comply with the international standards defined in the CAT. 

I look for your urgent intervention into this matter.

Yours sincerely,


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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. His Majesty King Gyanendra
Narayanhity Royal Palace
Durbar Marg
Kathmandu
NEPAL
Tel: 977 14 413577/227577
Fax: 977 14 227395/ 411955

2. Colonel Pankaj Karki
Officer of Royal Nepal Army Human Rights Cell
Human Rights Cell
Singha Durbar
Kathmandu
NEPAL
Telefax: + 977 14 245 020/226 292

3.  Laxmi Bahadur Nirala
Attorney General
Office of the Attorney General
Ramshahpath, Kathmandu
NEPAL
Tel: +977 14 262548 (direct line)/262394 (through Personal Assistant)
Fax: +977 14 262582
Email: fpattorney@most.gov.np 

4. Mr. Nain Bahadur Khatri
Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission
Pulchowck, Lalitpur
NEPAL
Tel: +977 1 5 547 974 or 525 659 or 547 975
Fax: +9771 5 547 973
Email: nhrc@ntc.net.np 

5. Mr. Ian Martin
Chief of Mission
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights- Nepal Office
UN House, Pulchowk
Kathmandu
NEPAL
Tel: (977) 1 5524 366 or 5523 200
Fax: (977) 1 5523 991 or 5523 986
Email: hrinfounit@undp.org 

6. Prof. Manfred Nowak
Special Rapporteur on the question of torture
Attn: Mr. Safir Syed
OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9230
Fax: +41 22 917 9016 (general)
E-mail: ssyed@ohchr.org 


Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-122-2006
Countries :
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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.