NEPAL: Alleged cruel form of torture imposed on two sisters by the Surkhet district police

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) was informed by Advocacy Forum- Nepal of the alleged brutal torture of three girls by the officers from the District Police Office, Surkhet, Nepal, which happened on 14 May 2008. Out of three victims, two are 13-year-old minors. The form of torture in this case was very cruel. The police reportedly tortured victims for hours, hammering nails on the victims’ toes and even electrocuting one of them. All the victims were released without any charges on the same day. They all belong to the Dalit [Untouchable] community.

CASE DETAILS: (based on the testimony of the victims)

At around 10:30am on 14 May 2008, one local man Mr. Aashik Kurisi, handed over a 19-year-old Sima [name changed to safeguard the victim’s identity], her 13-year-old sister Mina [name changed to safeguard the victim’s identity], and another 13-year-old girl named Ms. Gita [name changed to safeguard the victim’s identity] to the Surkhet District Police Office (DPO), with the accusation that the two sisters stole 60,000 Nepali rupees [about USD 895] from his home located in Birendranagar Municipality -6, Surkhet district. All these three girls are relatives of Mr. Aashik Kurisi.

At around 11am, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mr. Govinda Shah along with one male officer and one female officer entered the room where the girls were being held. The police locked the door and began to beat Sima brutally. Sima was kept in a room while Mina and Gita were kept together in another single room.

Sima testified, “The police kicked us. They beat me with a plastic pipe and sticks on my back, hands, and legs for about 30 minutes. They accused me of stealing the money and forced me to admit that I committed the theft. I told them I did not steal the money. Then, those police took me to a separate room. There, DSP Mr. Govinda Shah and Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Ms. Gyanumaya Thapa beat me. They inserted butts of a gun in a plastic pipe and they both beat me with the pipe. They also beat me with a stick indiscriminately all over my body. They even tied my legs and put them on the chair and beat the soles of my feet for about 10 minutes. They even hammered a pin on the nails of my big toes. I couldn’t bear the pain and I accepted the allegation of theft. I did not have any other choice but to accept it in order to avoid further torture.” Sima reported that although she accepted a charge of theft, the police electrocuted her on her right hand and then started beating her again. The torture and interrogation was continued until 9pm on the same day.

Shortly after stopping torture at 9pm, ASI Ms. Gyanumaya Thapa and DSP Mr. Govinda Shah put Sima into a police vehicle and took her to her rented room located in Birendranagar Municipality- 6, Surkhet distirct. The police searched her room without any search warrant. However, they found nothing, but took some of her clothes.

The police took Sima back to the Surkhet DPO at around 10pm. The victim recalled, “At the DPO, the senior police officers again beat me. The DSP Mr. Govinda Shah and ASI Ms. Gyanumaya Thapa hit me hard with a plastic pipe on my head, soles of my feet, and back about 15-20 times. At about 10:30pm, three female police officers, including ASI Ms. Gyanumaya Thapa, again assaulted me for about 10 minutes with their fist, a pipe, and a stick. They also seized 30,000 rupees [about USD 440] from my pocket. They then released me at about 11pm without any charges.” According to her, she did not sign any document or statement during her detention.

Sima complained of having severe pain on her injured toes and electrocuted right hand. She was unable to walk properly for a few days.

Meanwhile, it is reported that ASI Ms. Gyanumaya Thapa also tortured 13 year-old girl Mina, the younger sister of Sima. According to the victim, Ms. Thapa slapped her face and beat her with a stick for a while. Ms. Thapa and two male police officers accused her of being involved in the same theft case while torturing her. ASI Gyanumaya also hammered nails on her toes. The DSP Mr. Govinda Shah had slapped Gita during the interrogation. The police released Mina and Gita at about 6pm on the same day without any charges.

Sima and Mina themselves organized a press conference at Birendranagar, Surkhet on June 17 and disclosed the incident of their torture. On the next morning, Mr. Aashik Kurisi reportedly came to Sima’s room at about 8am and threatened her. He pressurized Sima to publically retract what she had said at the press conference, otherwise he would kill her.

Sima had registered a complaint at the Midwestern Regional Police Office, Birendranagar, Surkhet district, against the police officers responsible for her torture on 18 June 2008. The regional police authority then formed a three member investigating team led by Superintendent of Police Bir Bahadur Rana. However the investigating team has not submitted the investigation report about her complaint yet.

All three victims belong to the Dalit [Untouchable] community in the country.

The AHRC was also informed that Sima could not file a case in a court under the Torture Compensation Act (TCA) because she approached the Advocacy Forum lawyers to seek legal aid 35 days after the torture incident.  According to the Act, a torture victim is required to file a claim within 35 days of the alleged act of torture or release from detention. Many human rights groups criticize that this requirement, saying that it denies victims an adequate opportunity to seek legal redress for the wrongs committed against them. In many cases, the torture victims face geographical barriers to consulting with lawyers and filing claims. Many victims also lack knowledge of legal remedies that makes civil action against perpetrators difficult. Therefore the government of Nepal should urgently amend the TCA to comply with the elements of the definition of torture in the CAT.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

Although it is a state party to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), there is no specific domestic law that defines torture as a crime in Nepal. The TCA does not even criminalize the practice of torture. Also the compensation clause under this Act does not require the obligation of legal action against perpetrators in the government. Currently, torture victims can only seek very limited legal remedies under the assault section of the Civil Code when they seek punishment of torture perpetrators by law. However it only provides very light punishment based on the nature of the physical wound. In reality, it basically blocks the punishment of torture perpetrators by law. Therefore the AHRC is of the opinion that it is crucial for the government of Nepal to adopt domestic legislation criminalizing torture without further delay. To know more about this matter, please refer the AHRC’s statement entitled “Nepal: Criminalizing torture is an important step to ensure the transitional justice” issued on the occasion of the International Day against Torture.

Another problem that prevents torture victims from seeking justice in Nepal is that there is no independent avenue that torture victims can freely approach to file a complaint against law enforcement officers. The AHRC notes with grave concern that in many torture cases reported, an investigation into the alleged torture incidents was done by police officers from the same police station where the victim was tortured or a higher police authority, who has close relationship with the perpetrators. In that cas, the objectivity of this investigation remains questionable.

Some good examples are the cases of Umesh Lama, Noorjan Khatun and Surendra Thapa. In the case of Umesh, his sister, who had filed a case under the TCA, finally withdrew her case on 30 April 2008 due to constant pressure from the police, including the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) who was heading an investigation into his torture incident. The investigating committee in his case consisted of officers from the same police office where Umesh was allegedly tortured. For details, please see our urgent appeals AHRC-UAC-078-2008, AHRC-UAU-027-2008 and AHRC-UAU-028-2008. Noorjan Khatun, a victim of torture who had been illegally arrested, detained and brutally tortured by officers from District Police Office (DPO), Morang in September 2007, has been constantly intimidated and threatened by police officers who had previously tortured her, as well as by other police officers, after she filed a case under the TCA against her torture perpetrators. For details, please see our urgent appeals UP-141-2007 and AHRC-UAU-013-2008. In the case of Surendra Thapa, a young police constable who had been tortured by three senior officers on 15 October 2007, the Human Rights Cell under the Police Headquarters of Nepal attempted to hush up the case based on the information provided by the District Police Office, Surkhet. The three senior officers were simply transferred to another police post without facing any departmental or legal action. The mentioned DPO is the place where the senior officers were working. For details, please see our Urgent Appeals AHRC-UAC-006-2008 and AHRC-UAU-010-2008.

The three cases mentioned above show that it is essential to establish an independent avenue and to ensure transparent and impartial investigations into alleged torture cases in Nepal.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please immediately write to the relevant authorities listed below and express your concern about this serious case. Please urge them to take strong criminal and departmental action against the police officers responsible for the alleged torture. Please also urge them to ensure that the victims receive effective protection and get adequate compensation by law.

The AHRC has also separately reported this case to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture and Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women.

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