NEPAL: Legal aid NGO is denied access to detainees for filing an application for medical check-up on behalf of a torture vi

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that Advocacy Forum, one of the leading human rights organizations in Nepal providing legal aid services to detainees, has been refused access to detainees at District Police Office (DPO), Banke detention centre since 29 May 2007. The denial of Advocacy Forum’s access to the DPO took place soon after the organization lawyers filed an application for a medical check-up in the court on behalf of a torture victim named Bablu Rai. To see details of Bablu Rai’s case, please see our Urgent Appeal UA-179-2007. In fact, this is not the first time that lawyers of Advocacy Forum have been refused access to the detainees. The organization’s lawyers had been previously denied access to the prisoners at the Kanchanpur detention centre in February 2007. Advocacy Forum later re-gained access to prisoners at the detention centre within a few days due to the support shown by readers of these UAs (See: UA-070-2007 and UP-055-2007). We once again call for your urgent solidarity action to solve this matter and support Advocacy Forum. 

CASE DETAILS:

In the morning on May 29, an inspector at DPO, Banke denied AF lawyers’ access to detainees in the regular visit saying ‘the higher authority has decided not to allow Advocacy Forum to visit the detainees in the DPO detention center’. On the same day, a lawyer from the Advocacy Forum Regional Office in Nepalgunj attempted to regain access to the detention center by phoning the Superintendent of Police (SP) Mr. Uttam Karki, the Chief of the DPO, Banke. However the SP defended the decision to deny Advocacy Forum lawyers’ access to detainees stating, “You (Advocacy Forum) have made unnecessary reports stating that Bablu Rai was tortured by the police, even though we did not torture him”. The SP then ended the phone conversation. On 22 May 2007, Advocacy Forum filed an application for a medical check-up on the behalf of a torture victim, Bablu Rai, in Banke District Court.

To briefly explain Bablu Rai’s case, he was arrested with the charge of drug smuggling on 6 May 2007 and then severely tortured by the officers of the Jamunaha Police Post, Nepalgunj, Banke district. His right to receive medical check-up had been denied during his detention in DPO, Banke. He is now being remanded at DPO. There is a concern that Bablu Rai’s prolonged detention without any medical attention or check-up is for destroying the physical evidence of torture on his body. For further details of Bablu Rai’s case, please also see our Urgent Appeal UA-179-2007.

On May 31, lawyers from the Advocacy Forum Regional Office in Nepalgunj had a meeting with the SP Mr. Uttam Karki and the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mr. Kuber Kadayat to discuss the matter. During the meeting, the SP allegedly blamed Advocacy Forum for giving the DPO “unnecessary burdens.” The SP said that Advocacy Forum lawyers should have a written letter from the detainees giving the lawyers authority to represent them prior to being granted access to the detainees. The SP also stated, “The entire country believes me but you [Advocacy Forum] do not know how to deal with me.” He further accused Advocacy Forum of fabricating Bablu Rai’s claim and promised that he would continue to work on his own terms. Since then, Advocacy Forum tried to solve the problem talking with the higher authorities at DPO but all efforts went in vain.

Finally, on June 3, a representative from Advocacy Forum’s central office in Kathmandu met with the Human Rights Police Cell in the Kathmandu Police Headquarters. The inspector Mr. Manoj K.C. assured that he would discuss the matter with the higher office at Police Headquarter and try to solve the problem soon. However no progress has yet been made.

BACKGROUND INFORMATIOIN:

In fact, this is not the first time that lawyers of Advocacy Forum were refused access to the detainees. The organization’s lawyers had been previously denied of accessing the prisoners at the Kanchanpur detention centre in February 2007, after demanding food for the detainees in the centre, who were not taken to the court. Later Advocacy Forum gained fee access to prisoners at the Kanchanpur detention centre, after Ministry of Home Affairs, which received so many appeal letters every day, directed the SP of Kanchanpur to respond to this matter (See also: UA-070-2007 and UP-055-2007).

Advocacy Forum is an organisation providing legal aid to prisoners in police detention centres since 2001. Since there is no state mechanism that ensures detainees have access to lawyers as promised by the constitution of Nepal, Advocacy Forum lawyers are visiting different detention centres regularly in order to provide pro bono legal services. For the last 3 years, Advocacy Forum has been visiting 35 detention centres throughout the country after general understanding was reached between the police authority (Police Human Rights Cell) and the organization. The police authority gave permission for Advocacy Forum to monitor human rights and provide legal aid. AF is the only NGO in country that has been given this authority and now Banke DPO is the only detention centre to deny AF’s visits to persons in custody.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write the relevant Nepalese authorities and demand that Advocacy Forum be allowed to continue their legal aid programme in the police detention center at Banke district, Nepal. Please ask them to inquire into SP Mr. Uttam Karki’s his role in this denial of justice. Also urge the concerned authorities to investigate the torture of Bablu Rai. The AHRC has already reported this matter to the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General for human rights defenders.

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER