NEPAL: A man remains missing after his abduction by the Young Communist League

Dear friends, 

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a man was abducted by members of the Young Communist League (YCL) on 7 May after he allegedly refused to give money to a Maoist activist, during the Maoists’ indefinite strike. His whereabouts remain unknown. The Maoist groups have denied any involvement in this case and have refused to collaborate with the police, and although police have arrested two Maoists cadres, they have not been able to locate the missing person. There is still no law in Nepal that criminalizes enforced disappearance. 

CASE NARRATIVE: 

According to the information we have received from the Advocacy Forum, a national human rights NGO based in Kathmandu, Surendra Tamang, 30,from the Jhala Village Development Committee -3 in Dhading district, was abducted by members of the Young Communist League (YCL) on 7 May at around 8 am. 

It is reported that the day before the abduction, Surendra had refused to give money to his brother-in-law, a Maoist activist called Yauvan. At that time the Maoists were holding their indefinite strike, but it remains unclear whether Yauvan asked for money as a donation to support the Maoist strike, or for personal purposes. 

The following day on 7 May, Surendra went to buy medicine for his mother and met YCL in-charge Mang Bahadur Tamang in Gangabu Chowk, in front of Binayak Hospital, Gangabu. After they had shaken hands and spoken for a few minutes, Surendra and his friend Prem Chokhyal were reportedly seized by Maoist cadres and taken to a private school named Forward Academy in Gangabu, Kathmandu. They were reportedly detained there, along with Maoist cadres from Nuwakot and Dhading who were staying there during the strike. 

At 11 am Prem Chokhyal was released from the academy and was threatened with dire consequences should he tell anybody about the abduction. Prem asked the abductors when they would release Surendra, and was told that he would be set free at 2pm that same day. However Surendra has not been seen since. 

On 8 May Surendra’s elder brother and Prem visited the Metropolitan Police Circle Maharajgunj in Kathmandu to inform the police about the incident. However they report that the Deputy Inspector of Police (DPS) Dipak Thapa was uncooperative and dismissive of the case. During an interview with Surendra’s wife he allegedly treated her roughly, as if she were a potential suspect, and insulted her by calling her bhote( a derogatory term referring to her caste). He said that he believed Surendra was laying drunk in an ally somewhere, and asked for proof of the involvement of the YCL. 

Surendra’s elder brother Sharma Tamang visited some local and central level Maoist leaders to gather information about the abduction. He claims that senior leaders, Post Bahadur Bogati, Agni Sapkota, Krishna Bahadur Mahara and Sagar Pun, all denied Maoist involvement in the abduction. However they all refused to disclose any information about the leadership of the Maoist group stationed at the Forward Academy at the time of the incident. 

Since the abduction, there have been various unverified reports of sightings of Surendra, but his exact whereabouts remain unknown. 

On 10 May Surendra’s elder brother filed an FIR at the same police station. The police investigation into the abduction has so far resulted in the arrest of Maoist DCM Yauvan and YCL central member Rajan Gautam. 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: 

Article 7.1.4 of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed between the government of Nepal and the Maoists, and mandates that “Both sides would not be involved in the acts of torture; kidnapping; and forcing the civilians in any work and take necessary action to discourage such acts”. According to the statistics of the National Human Rights Commission, following the signature of the CPA, cases of disappearances by the Maoists have been consistently declining: 132 cases were reported in 2007, 37 in 2008 and 24 in 2009. Nevertheless, those statistics also show that civilians continue to be regularly abducted and disappeared by the Maoists. Please see our Urgent Appeals UA-219-2007and UA-298-2007, which involve victims being taken away by the Maoists or by the Young Communist League, and remaining missing afterwards. 

The impunity of persons involved in enforced disappearances is often secured by the uncooperative attitude of the police, who regularly refuse to register cases when the Maoists or the Young Communist League are involved. This may be due to the fear of reprisals, or because they know that any inquiry confronting such suspects is unlikely to yield results. In the case of Arjun Bohadur Lama, who was abducted by Maoists in 2005 it took one year for his widow to file a complaint, after the District Police repeatedly refused to do so. Even a Supreme Court order that police register the case was delayed for five months. It should be noted that once a complaint is filed there is no guarantee for the victims that the police will conduct a proper investigation.. 

This situation is further aggravated by the lack of cooperation by the cadres of the Maoists party. In its recent report to the Human Rights Counci (PDF)l, the OHCHR-Nepal stated that ‘The leadership of UCPN-M has likewise failed to cooperate with criminal investigations into the involvement of its cadres in serious human rights abuses during and after the conflict’. Regarding the cases of enforced disappearances, it further remarks that: ‘UCPN-M has also failed to make good on its public commitment to inform the families of victims abducted by its cadres in Bardiya district during the conflict about the fate of their loved ones.’ Since the UCPN-M has been denying its involvement in Surendra’s abduction, their cooperation – and therefore his recovery – looks unlikely. 

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: 

Although the Interim Constitution of Nepal makes provision for the criminalization of enforced disappearances, there is still no law in Nepal that criminalizes it. In November 2009 the Council of Ministers approved draft legislation that would effectively do so and sent it to the Legislature-Parliament for consideration, following consultations with the public and human rights organizations by the Ministry for Peace and Reconstruction. 

However it falls short of international standards since it includes a restrictive six-month limitation for the filing of a criminal complaint, and contains no provision to define the systematic practice of enforced disappearances as a crime against humanity, according to the definition included in the 1992 UN Declaration for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances. 

SUGGESTED ACTION: 

Please join us in expressing your concern in this case by writing to the following authorities. Please ask for a thorough and prompt investigation so that Surendra can be safely recovered and his family informed of his whereabouts. 

The AHRC is writing separate letters to the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances and the field office of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Kathmandu.

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