Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the four people who were re-arrested by the security force from the courtyard of the Morang District Court on 14 July 2004 have been found. According to the updated information, the four persons namely, Yek Raj Basnet, Khagendra Sambahamfe, Ram Bahadur Ingaram and Tek Bahadur Bista are now detained in Morang prison under “preventive detention”. AHRC had been concerned about the possible disappearance of the four persons and had issued an Urgent Appeal regarding this case on 16 July 2004 calling for the government of Nepal to take immediate action to find out the whereabouts of the four individuals.
It was reported that the four persons were detained under Section 9 of the Terrorists and Disruptive Activities (Control and Punishment) Ordinance 2001 (TADO) which allows for a maximum of 90 days of detention if there are grounds to believe that if not prevented, the person can commit terrorist activities. They are not allowed to access anybody including their family members from the outside.
However, after being pressured, the ail authority allowed a lawyer from Advocacy Forum, a human rights NGO in Nepal, to see the four persons in prison in the presence of police guards. Even though the meeting was very short (less than two minutes), the lawyer could check their safety with his own eyes. In the email, an activist from Advocacy Forum expressed her thanks to all the people who wrote a letter to the government of Nepal saying, “Your help is a life guard for many people.” We appreciate very much for all your support in this case.
However, the four persons are still in prison under TADO. AHRC again asks you to continue to send letters to the government of Nepal and request it to release the four persons immediately and stop re-arresting people released by court orders and abusing the process of law. The contact information of local authorities is attached to our previous Urgent Appeal at: http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2004/739/
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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