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NEPAL: Continuing impunity for policemen that tortured a school teacher

September 16, 2007

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

 

17 September 2007
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UA-277-2007: NEPAL: Continuing impunity for policemen that tortured a school teacher

NEPAL: Death threats; torture; lack of investigation and remedies; impunity
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you of the continuing failure by the authorities to take adequate action against the policemen involved in torturing a school teacher following his arrest on August 23, 2007. The victim, Siya Ram Gachaedar, was taken for questioning to Haraicha Area Police Station (APO), Haraich VDC-1 in Morang district, where he was beaten with a bamboo stick on the head and with rifles butts all over his body. He was then transferred to the Belbari APO, where the torture continued. His arms were tied, he was blindfolded and water was poured on his head while he was being beaten.

CASE DETAILS:

At around 11:00 a.m. on August 23, 2007, Siya Ram Gachaedar was arrested in Kala Banjar Chowk, Banigama VDC-6, Morang district, by police sub inspector (SI) Jiwan Bogati and members of his team, which is attached to the Haraicha Area Police Station (APO), Haraich VDC-1. As he was loaded into a police van the victim noted that his school principal, Kagat Lal Chaudhary, with whom he had disagreements, was also there. The police took the victim to the Haraicha APO, where they allegedly started beating and torturing him.

It is suspected that Kagat Lal may be responsible for arranging Siya Ram's arrest, as Siya Ram and other persons had protested against the principal's actions during the recruitment of a teacher on May 31, 2007, during which Siya Ram also had a dispute with SI Bogati.

When Siya Ram was taken into custody at the Haraicha APO, SI Bogati reportedly threatened him and started hitting the victim's head with a bamboo stick. As a result, he fell down to the ground, at which time police constables Ganesh Khadka, Kishor Rayamaji and another unnamed policeman, took part in beating him in the face, chest, back and abdomen with their rifles butts and kicking him for some ten minutes. They then told him: 'don't you know who the police are?' and ordered him to stand before taking him outside to a police van waiting outside. They then transported him to another police station, the Belbari APO, where the same policemen resumed torturing him. School principal Kagat Lal was also reportedly seen being transported in the same vehicle as the victim.

Before they arrived the Belbari APO, SI Bogati threatened words Siya Ram, telling him: 'we are the persons who fought with [the] Maoists and I can shoot you dead'.  He also told his colleagues: 'we have to hang him to death from the Khorsane Bridge' and when he was told by the driver that they had already passed the bridge, he is reported as saying that: 'he must be killed by using electric shocks.'

Soon after they arrived at the police station, police constable Kishor Rayamaji took off the victim's shirt, blindfolded him and tied his hands with plastic rope. SI Bogati then ordered him to sit down and they started pouring water on his head while beating him with sticks all over his body. He begged for them to stop beating him as he couldn't breathe, but was ignored. When the stick they were using was broken, they kicked him and hit him with the butts of their rifles for a few minutes.

Siya Ram was later taken to see Belabari APO's Police Inspector Mahendra Bahadur Thapa, where he described how the policemen had arrested and subsequently tortured him. Siya Ram was then taken for a medical examination to the Belbari Health Post, Morang district. At the health post, the doctors gave him injections and stitches to an injury to his head. However, Siya Ram had to pay the medical expenses himself.

Siya Ram was released the same day of his arrest after his relatives and some locals gathered at the Haraicha APO and others spoke to the policemen in the Belbari APO demanding his release. He was taken back to the Haraicha APO from where he was released.
 
On August 24, he was taken to the Birat Nursing Home, Biratnagar, by the District Police Office (DPO) in Morang for medical treatment. He was discharged the following day. Later that day - August 25 - the DPO in Morang called a meeting that Siya Ram, SI Bogati and some locals attended, during which SI Bogati apologized to Siya Ram for his wrongdoings. The DPO gave assurances that departmental action would be taken against SI Bogati. He is reportedly no longer attached to the APO Haraicha following the incident. According to the Nepal Police Human Rights Cell (HR Cell), SI Jiwan Kumar Bogati has been reprimanded and four other constables have received formal written warning letters. Given the severity of the beatings and the use of torture in this case, this punishment is derisory and in no way complies with Nepal's obligations under the United Nations Convention against Torture. It is surprising to find that the HR-Cell can consider reprimands sufficient punishment concerning torture. This failure to punish the perpetrators of torture points to the pervasive climate of impunity and the critical need for a law criminalizing torture in the country, without which torture will continue to be perpetrated endemically without being punished.

Siya Ram is presently recuperating at home while receiving treatment. The bruises and cuts he suffered are still visible over his body, particularly on his shoulders, back, face, chest and legs.

The AHRC has communicated this case to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and other relevant actors calling for their intervention in this case.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the concerned authorities requesting them to investigate and take prompt action concerning the alleged torture of Siya Ram Gachaedar. Appropriate charges must immediately be filed against those responsible and they must be promptly tried in line with international standards. Siya Ram Gachaedar must be provided with immediate medical assistance and adequate reparation for all injuries and trauma suffered.

To support this appeal, please click here:

Sample letter:

Dear ___________,

NEPAL: Continuing impunity for policemen that tortured a school teacher

Name of the victim: Siya Ram Gachaedar, a resident of Dhakiyabari Tole, Banigama VDC-6, Morang district. He is working as a temporary teacher at the Ganesh Lower Secondary School, Dhobiyare Tole,  Banigama VDC-9, Morang district.
Alleged perpetrators: Sub Inspector (SI) Mr. Jiwan Bogati, police constables Ganesh Khadka, Kishor Rayamaji and other policemen from the Haraicha Area Police Station (APO), Haraich VDC-1.
Date of incident: 23 August 2007
Place of incident: Inside the Haraicha and Belbari APOs, in Morang district

I am writing to voice my grave concern regarding the alleged torture of school teacher Siya Ram Gachaedar by police officers from the Haraicha Area Police Station (APO), and the continuing failure by the police authorities to take prompt action against them. Siya Ram was arrested supposedly for questioning by Sub Inspector (SI) Jiwan Bogati and his men, who then beat and tortured him.

After they arrested Siya Ram on August 23, they took him to their police station where SI Bogati allegedly threatened and then beat him on the head with a bamboo stick. Three of his colleagues also then beat him with their rifle butts when he fell to the ground. They took the victim to the Belbari APO, during which time they threatened to kill him, where the same police officers continued to beat and torture him. The victim's shirt was removed, he was blindfolded and beaten while his colleagues poured water on his head, making it difficult for him to breathe.

I have been informed that teacher Siya Ram was in a dispute with SI Bogati prior to his arrest regarding alleged irregularities in the school's hiring of a teacher. In May, Siya Ram and companions had protested against the methods used by the school principal, Kagat Lal Chaudhary, in hiring a new member of staff, which was assisted by SI Bogati and his men. I am gravely concerned by SI Bogati and his men's alleged arrest and torture of Siya Ram Gachaedar.

Although the victim was released on the same day of his arrest, he was tortured and insufficient and inadequate action has since been taken against SI Bogati and his men. The District Police Office (DPO) in Morang gave assurances that departmental action would be taken against SI Bogati. He is reportedly no longer attached to the APO Haraicha following the incident. According to the Nepal Police Human Rights Cell (HR Cell), SI Jiwan Kumar Bogati has been reprimanded and four other constables have received formal written warning letters. Given the severity of the beatings and the use of torture in this case, this punishment is derisory and in no way complies with Nepal's obligations under the United Nations Convention against Torture. It is surprising to find that the HR-Cell can consider such light reprimands sufficient punishment concerning torture. This failure to punish the perpetrators of torture points to the pervasive climate of impunity and the critical need for a law criminalizing torture in the country, without which torture will continue to be perpetrated endemically without being punished.

I therefore urge you to ensure that appropriate action is taken to ensure the investigation and punishment of all those responsible for torturing Siya Ram Gachaedar. SI Bogati's apologies, while welcomed, cannot exonerate him from his criminal liability.  It is disappointing that the Nepal Police's Human Rights Cell considers that reprimands and written warnings to the perpetrators suffice, when they clearly do not.

Siya Ram Gachaedar has also had to cover the medical expenses related to the treatment of his injuries. I urge you to ensure that he is afforded proper treatment for his injuries and the trauma he had suffered and granted adequate reparation. I am gravely concern by the impunity and injustice that continues to prevail in Nepal.


Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Mr. Krishna Sitaula
Home Minister
Singha Darbar
Kathmandu
NEPAL
Fax: +977 1 4211232
Email: moha@wlink.com.np 

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

3. Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission
Pulchowck, Lalitpur
NEPAL
Fax: +977 1 5547973
Email: complaints@nhrcnepal.org or 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. SP Mr. Navaraj Silwal
Police HR Cell
Human Rights Cell
Nepal Police
Kathmandu
NEPAL
Fax: +977 1 4415593
Email: hrcell@nepalpolice.gov.np 

Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-277-2007
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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.