UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

Update on Urgent Appeal 4 December 2003

[RE: FA-42-2003: NEPAL: Illegal arrest and torture of two young men by the police in Kathmandu]

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UP-50-2003: NEPAL: Torture victim is missing and his disappearance or extra-judicial execution is feared

NEPAL: Torture; Disappearance
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) on the risk of further torture, disappearance and extra-judicial execution of Manoj Rai, a 17 year old boy in Nepal. AHRC had previously issued an urgent appeal regarding this case on 1 December 2003. (FA-42-2003: http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2003/587/) Your urgent action is required to pressure the local authorities to correct this matter immediately.

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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UPDATED INFORMATION:

According to the information received, Manoj Rai, 17, who has been arbitrarily detained and tortured since 27 September 2003 at Hanumandhoka District Police Office, is reported missing.

On 27 September 2003, he was taken to the Hanumandhoka District Police Office and continuously tortured at the KERKAR (interrogation section) while he is under detention. He was neither given any arrest warrant nor produced to the court. Because of the torture, he reported that he felt difficulties while walking due to pain in his soles, back and thigh and he had also lost his ability to hear in his left ear. He also suffered from insomnia.

On 26 November 2003, Manoj Rai was visited by an NGO and reported the torture he had suffered to a lawyer. The lawyer had been alerted about his case by other detainees, as Manoj Rai himself was not in the police record. On 28 November, detainees reported to the lawyer that he is now missing. A guard confirmed that he was not in the custody of
Hanumandhoka District Police Office anymore and that he had been released. However, Manoj Rai is nowhere to be found. His father who closely followed the detention, who regularly brought some food to the police station, and who has filed an Habeas Corpus, now fears for the life of his son.

Another Habeas Corpus was also filed in the Supreme Court by the NGO who visited Manoj Rai. However, the authorities neither acknowledged his arrest nor his supposed release. The court has asked the police authorities to reply whether they have arrested him and, if so, to produce the detainee before the court. The police authorities have
not replied to the court yet. The risks of further torture and the extra-judicial execution of Manoj Rai is feared.

Nepal is bound by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Nepal is a state party. According to article 37:

(a) No child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. (¡K)
(b) No child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily. The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time;
(c) Every child deprived of liberty shall be treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, and in a manner which takes into account the needs of persons of his or her age. In particular, every child (¡K) shall have the right to maintain
contact with his or her family through correspondence and visits (¡K);
(d) Every child deprived of his or her liberty shall have the right to prompt access to legal and other appropriate assistance, as well as the right to challenge the legality of the deprivation of his or her liberty before a court or other competent, independent and
impartial authority, and to a prompt decision on any such action.

AHRC urges the Nepalese government to order an immediate investigation into this case and bring the perpetrators to justice. Also, the suspected perpetrators of the acts of torture should be suspended from their service at the Hanumandhoka district police office, Kathmandu immediately.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter, fax or email to the local authorities expressing your concern of this serious case.

1. Surya Bahadur Thapa,
Prime Minister
Prime Minister's Office
Singha Durbar, Kathmandu,
NEPAL
Fax: + 977 1 4 227 286

2. General Pyar Jung Thapa
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Army
Headquarters, Kathmandu,
NEPAL
Fax: + 977 1 4 242 168

3. Brigadier General B A K Sharma
Head, Army Human Rights Cell, Army
Headquarters, Kathmandu,
NEPAL
Fax: + 977 1 4 226 292 / 229 451

4. Gyanendra Raj Rai
Deputy Inspector General of Police, Head, APF
Human Rights Cell, Armed Police Force (APF)
Halchowk, Swayambhu,
Kathmandu,
NEPAL
Fax: + 977 1 4 411 384

5. Shyam Bhakta Thapa
Inspector General of Police
Police Headquarters,
Naxal, Kathmandu,
NEPAL
Fax: + 977 1 4 415 593 / 415 594

6. H. E. Gyan Chandra Acharya
Ambassador
Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Nepal
81 rue de la Servette,
1201 Geneva,
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +4122 7332722
E-mail: mission.nepal@ties.itu.int

Sample letter:

Dear

Re: Torture victim is missing and his disappearance or extra-judicial execution is feared

Name of the victim: Manoj Rai, 17
Alleged perpetrators: Some police officers attached to the Hanumandhoka District Police Office
Period of illegal detention and torture: from 27 September 2003 until now
Current situation: the victim is missing

I am writing to bring to your urgent attention the torture and disappearance of a 17 year old boy Manoj Rai.

According to the information I have received, Manoj Rai, who has been arbitrarily detained and tortured since 27 September 2003 at Hanumandhoka District Police Office, is missing. On 27 September 2003, he was taken to the Hanumandhoka District Police Office and continuously tortured at the KERKAR (interrogation Section) while he was in detention. He was neither given any letter of arrest nor produced to the court. Because of being tortured, it is reported that he feels difficulties while walking due to pain in his soles, back and thigh and he has also lost his ability to hear in his left ear. He also suffers from insomnia.

On November 28, a guard confirmed that he was not in the custody of Hanumandhoka District Police Office anymore and that he had been released. However, Manoj Rai is nowhere to be found. The victim's father now fears for the life of his son. As the victim's father and an NGO filed habeas corpus in the Supreme Court, the court has asked the police authorities to reply whether they have arrested him and, if so, to produce the detainee before the court. The police authorities have yet to reply to the court.

I am very concerned about the risk of further torture and extra-judicial execution of Manoj Rai. Therefore, I urge you to order an impartial investigation into the arbitrary arrest and torture of Manoj Rai and bring the perpetrators to court and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law. I also urge you to pressure police authorities to immediately find the whereabouts of Manoj Rai and suspend perpetrators responsible for the illegal arrest and torture of the victim. I further urge the Nepalese government to take strong action to implement the provisions of international human rights instruments to which Nepal is a party, especially the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, into domestic law, thereby prohibiting torture and other inhuman treatment.

Sincerely yours



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Thank you.

Kim Soo A
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)