NEPAL: Torture victim faces continuous death threats due to his complaints to the courts 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from a reliable source regarding the constant death threats made against and the harassment of a torture victim by his perpetrators due to his legal action against them in court. The victim is a police officer who was arbitrary detained and tortured by his senior officers in November 2002 merely because he refused to do the work which he felt was not within his scope of duty as a police officer. As a result of his torture, he has filed two torture cases against his perpetrators, which are currently pending in the Patan Appellate Court and the Supreme Court seperately. The victim has reported that he has been receiving countless death threats for the last couple of months due to his legal action and he has been pressured by his superiors to resign from his post as a police officer.

Hom Bahadur Bagale (41) is a Sub-inspector working as a technical officer at the Central Police Band Gulma (Battalion), Maharajganj, Kathmandu, Nepal. He is currently involved in a legal battle against his superiors who he alleges committed atrocious acts of torture against him in November 2002.  According to the victim, on 18 February 2006, at around 6.30 pm, a group of around six men in civilian clothing came to his house and asked his wife where he was.  The wife told the men that the victim had gone to see his sons at their school in Sage, 25 kilometers from Kathmandu.  When the victim was informed about the visit from the men he feared for his life and therefore abstained from returning to his house.

Bagale has been receiving continuous threats against his life from his perpetrators (senior officials within his office). They have warned him to withdraw the cases filed at the Patan Appellate Court and the Supreme Court of Nepal against them.  Furthermore, they have threatened to terminate the victim’s job as a police officer.  Their threats have been reinforced by a letter sent to the victim, from the legal department of the police station, asking him to either withdraw his two cases or resign.

This has placed immense pressure on the victim, who is asking for protection from relevant authorities.  Even though he is faced with threats against his life, the victim is determined to seek justice and accountability from his perpetrators.  He has refused to follow the warnings of the perpetrators and declined to accept the letter from the legal department.

There is fear that the death threats will escalate as the date of his trial hearing gets nearer.  The date of the trial has been set for 5 March and therefore, prompt protection must be offered to the victim.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

On 23 November 2002, Khadka Singh Gurung, the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and chief of the office, ordered Bagale to go to the Tribhuwan International Airport to fetch some gold sent by his relatives in Brunei. However, Bagale politely refused to do so saying that it was not his duty to run errands for his supervisor.

On November 28, the DSP Gurung ordered Bagale to go to the Kathmandu District Police Office, Hanumandhoka (KDPO) to meet Inspector Yagnya Binod Pokharel. When he entered Inspector Pokharel’s office, Inspector Pokharel closed the door and assaulted him with a bamboo stick for an hour without saying a word. At that time, Bagale was wearing his police uniform. After the attack, Inspector Pokharel demanded the victim confess where he had hidden DSP Gurung’s gold. Even though the victim insisted he was innocent, the inspector did not listen to him and said that DSP Gurung had only informed Bagale about the gold. The victim was then illegally put under the custody of the KDPO. No arrest warrant was produced on Bagale. Inspector Pokharel then called to Sub-inspector Ram Kumar Thapa of the Telephone Section of the victim’s office and ordered him to bring the victim’s civilian clothing.

On November 29, Bagale was handcuffed and taken into the office of Kuber Singh Rana, Superintendent of Police (SP) of the KDPO. SP Rana and Inspector Pokharel then severely beat the victim with cane sticks. They then ordered the victim to roll a heavy cement log onto both his thighs. Bagale fainted many times while being tortured. At around 1:00am, they took the victim to the investigation room where he was blindfolded and tortured again by another police officer, Inspector Ganga Panta for about 15 minutes. At 1:30am, the police, led by Inspector Panta, forced Bagale to show them where he lived, they then searched his house and surrounding land but they could not find anything. Meanwhile, some police officers approached and threatened Bagale’s family saying that if any family members told anybody about the torture then they would face the same fate as the victim. After that, they brought the victim back to the police station. The victim was not given any food and water following his arrest on November 28. After starving for almost two days, he was given some food on November 30 from the other detainees who shared the cell with him.

On December 2, the police took the victim to the Investigation Branch of the KDPO and ordered him to sign a document which he was not given a chance to read. When he refused to sign, the police laid him down on the floor and started beating him on both of his soles. They continued to torture him in this way. When Bagale still refused to sign the document, he was taken to Inspector Pokharel who brutally assaulted him. The torture was continued by Inspector Pokharel on December 3 and 4.

On December 5, Bagale was handcuffed and taken to the Legal Section of the Police Head Quarters, Naksal but they refused to keep him. The police then took him to the Quarter Guard, Armed Police Battalion No. 1, at Naksal where they also refused to keep the victim. The police then brought the victim to his own office in Maharajganj and ordered him not to go outside the station. Meanwhile, Bagale’s wife Binda Kumari Bagale filed a habeas corpus petition in the Appellate Court on behalf of her husband on December 3. On December 4, the court ordered the police officers to present the victim within 24 hours to the court. However the next day, DSP Gurung stated to the court that the victim was not detained because he had not committed any crime and was currently working in the office. Similarly, SP Rana of the KDPO also told the court on December 5 that no complaint had been filed, by his superiors, on Bagale and therefore he was not detained by them.

After being finally released from custody, Bagale filed his case for compensation against his perpetrators in the Kathmandu District Court on 31 December 2002 (Registered case number: 455). The District Court ruled on 13 July 2004 in the perpetrator’s favour and therefore, Bagale appealed against the decision and registered his case before the Patan Appellate Court on 6 December 2004.

The victim also lodged an injunction before the Patan Appellate Court on 24 February 2003 demanding directive, prohibitory orders against the perpetrators.  The court’s decision went in favour of the defendants.  The court said that it was still a matter of investigation from within the police organisation whether a junior personnel was obliged to follow his senior’s command it if was for personal purpose.  However, the court did not order an investigation into the incident to find out. The victim subsequently, appealed to the Supreme Court to challenge the appellate court’s decision.  The appeal was lodged on 2 August 2004.  The trial date has been set for 5 March 2006.

During the victim’s legal proceedings, he received the first out of the two letters, (Ref. Pra/11//(059-60) Cha. No. 383), from his superiors on behalf of the Legal Section of the Nepal Police on 5 February 2003. He was detained for three days in the Quarter Guard Room of Armed Police Battalion no. 1, Naksal.  The Inspector General of Police (IGP) asked the victim to reply, within 24 hours, in writing why he should not be terminated from his job.  What is interesting, is that this runs in direct contradiction with what DSP Gurung told the district court which was that Bagale had not committed any act contrary to the Police Act or Police Regulations therefore, he had not been detained by his superiors. However, what the IGP has asked suggests that the police do believe that Bagale has done something wrong to sanction detention in custody.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the relevant authorities listed below to ensure that proper and immediate protection is provided to Bagale especially with the date of the Supreme Court hearing getting nearer. There is a fear that the threats and intimidation will increase in order to force Bagale to withdraw his complaint.  Although legal action is taking place against his perpetrators, disciplinary action must be taken by the Inspector General of Police, to instigate a prompt and impartial investigation into the actions of Bagale’s superiors and to make them accountable for their actions.  Finally, the Convention Against Torture must be implemented in Nepal, notably by the enactment of the law criminalising torture, so that the perpetrators can be successfully prosecuted under national and international law

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