Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the condition of the parents of Krishna Prasad Adhikari about whom we issued an Urgent Appeal Case earlier (For further details, please see: AHRC-UAC-049-2013). Krishna Prasad Adhikari was a young man who was murdered in 2004 in Chitwan by Maoist cadres following a family dispute. Even though a complaint was filed in 2005 in the District Police Office, Chitwan, no proper investigation has been held and the alleged perpetrators have reportedly benefited from high level political protection since the beginning of the case. The National Human Rights Commission of Nepal ordered that his family should be provided with compensation and restitution for their land in 2009. However, the government has not taken any step to implement the Commission’s recommendations. Krishna’s parents have been staging a hunger strike to protest the injustice and were arrested by the police for doing so. They have been diagnosed with mental illness and locked into a mental hospital.
UPDATED INFORMATION:
According to the information we have received, Nanda Prasad Adhikari and Ganga Maya Adhikari, the parents of Krishna Prasad had been staging a hunger strike since January 2013 in Kathmandu to protest against the lack of progress in the investigation into the circumstances of their son’s death nine years ago. They had already been arrested several times by the police for doing so. On 14 June 2013, the police arrested and brought them to Bir Hospital, Kathmandu as their health had been deteriorating since the beginning of the hunger strike. The doctors there recommended their transfer to a mental hospital. They were transferred to the Mental Hospital Lagankhel, Lalitpur where they were diagnosed with mental illness and decided that they should stay in the mental hospital. They were forcefully bed-ridden bringing their fight for justice temporarily to a halt. There are concerns that the director of the mental hospital was coerced into reaching such a diagnosis or colluded with the police and political interests to prevent the couple from resuming their fight for justice.
They were forced to stay in the hospital for 35 days. After intense campaigning from human rights defenders and extensive media coverage, the hospital agreed to discharge them after consulting with the Metropolitan Police Department, Kathmandu. The hospital published a final report in which it retracted the initial diagnosis and acknowledged that after observing the old couple for five weeks they had come to the conclusion that they did not suffer from mental illness but had just been under a lot of stress in the aftermath of their son’s murder. Following the old couple’s release, the family went back to the District Administration Office, Kathmandu to resume their hunger strike for justice.
During the 35 days in which the couple was consigned in the mental hospital, neither family members not human rights activists were allowed to visit them. The hospital administration was reportedly very rude with visitors and refused to allow access to the patients under the fallacious pretext that they were deeply ill.
Labeling victims of human rights violations as mentally unbalanced to discredit their fight and silence them is a dictatorial practice which has no room in a democracy. The AHRC is extremely concerned by this practice and hope that an investigation will take place to shed light on the circumstances of the parents’ arrest and forceful consignment to a mental hospital and that measures will be taken to prevent such occurrences in the future.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
In our previous urgent appeal (AHRC-UAC-049-2013, NEPAL: Conflict victims harassed and thrown out of their homes for seeking justice) , we reported that following a family land dispute, relatives of Nanda Prasad Adhikary had filed a case against the family before what was then a “Village government”, run by the Maoists. On 6 June 2004, Krishna Prasad Adhikari was taken away by men on a motorcycle in Bakullahar Chowk in Bharatpur, Chitwan. Later that day he was gunned down. Nanda’s relatives from Chitwan have said that Krishna had first been tortured by the Maoists before being killed.
Nanda was informed by local Maoists that his son had been “wiped out” and later discovered that his neighbor had falsely informed the Maoists that Krishna had been spying against them. Afterwards, all attempts by the family to find justice at the local level were met with threats and harassment from the perpetrators.
Nanda filed two separate complaints on 11 December 2005 to the District Police Office, Chitwan to ask for investigation into his son’s murder, naming the alleged perpetrators, but the police have not conducted any investigation in the case as the perpetrators had strong political connections.
On 5 April 2009 the National Human Rights Commission decided to recommend to the government to provide the family with Rs. 300,000.00 as compensation, to rehabilitate them to their home and ensure their security. To date, no step was taken to implement those recommendations. The family has also applied to the District Administration Office, Chitwan, the District Police Office, Gorkha, the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction and the President’s Office for justice but has not received any responses from these authorities.
The victim’s family has been displaced from their home. Even after the peace agreement, the alleged perpetrators looted their house, exploited their lands and killed their cattle. They are now living in the streets of Kathmandu and have not received any of the support they were entitled to as conflict victims.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please join us by writing to the authorities listed below to express your concern in the forceful consignment of Krishna’s parents to a mental hospital and urge for a prompt investigation into his murder, protection and compensation for his family.
Please be informed that the AHRC is writing a separate letter to the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-repetition to ask for his intervention in this matter.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ……………,
NEPAL: Conflict victims locked into a mental hospital for seeking justice
Name of victim: Krishna Prasad Adhikari and his parents Nanda Prasad Adhikari and Ganga Maya Adhikari
Names of alleged perpetrators:
1. Chhabilal Poudel, 55, Fujel VDC-6, Gorkha district
2. Januka Poudel, Gorkha
3. Meghnath Poudel, 57, Fujel VDC-4, Gorkha
4. Bishnu Tiwari, 40, Fujel VDC-4, Gorkha, Tiwari Village
5. Subhadra Tiwari, 48, Fujel VDC-7, Gorkha
6. Sita Adhikari, 30, Fujel VDC-7, Gorkha
7. Kali Prasad Adhikari, 50, Fujel VDC-7, Gorkha
8. Himlal Adhikari, 34, Fujel VDC-7, Gorkha (Kali’s son)
9. Ram Prasad Adhikari, 27, Fujel VDC-7, Gorkha (Kali’s son)
10. Ram Prasad Adhikari, 30, Fujel VDC-7, Gorkha
11. Bhimsen Poudel, 30, Jirauna, Ratnanagar Municipality, Chitwan
12. Parashuram Poudel a.k.a. Ajib, 35, Paras Buspark, Bharatpur Municipality-9, Chitwan
Date of original incident: 6 June 2004
Place of original incident: Bakullahar Chowk, Ratnanangar Municipality-1, Chitwan district
Date of arrest of the victim’s parents: 14 June 2013
Place of detention of the victim’s parents: Mental Hospital Lagankhel, Lalitpur
I am writing to draw your attention to the latest developments related to the case of Krishna Prasad Adhikari’s murder.
According to the information I have received from the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), Nanda Prasad Adhikari and Ganga Maya Adhikari, Krishna Prasad’s parents, had been staging a hunger strike since January 2013 in Kathmandu to protest against the lack of investigation into the circumstances of their son’s death nine years ago. They had already been arrested several times by the police for doing so. On 14 June 2013, the police arrested and brought them to Bir Hospital, Kathmandu as their health had been deteriorating since the beginning of the hunger strike. The doctors there recommended their transfer to a mental hospital.
They were transferred to Mental Hospital Lagankhel, Lalitpur where the doctors diagnosed them with mental illness and decided that they should stay in the mental hospital. They were forcefully bed-ridden bringing their fight for justice temporarily to a halt. There are concerns that the director of the mental hospital was coerced into reaching such a diagnosis or colluded with the police and political interests to prevent the couple from resuming their fight for justice.
They were forced to stay in the hospital for 35 days. After intense campaigning from human rights defenders and extensive media coverage, the hospital agreed to discharge them after consulting with the Metropolitan Police Department, Kathmandu. The hospital published a final report in which it retracted the initial diagnosis and acknowledged that after observing the old couple for five weeks they had come to the conclusion that they did not suffer from mental illness but had just been under a lot of stress in the aftermath of their son’s murder. Following the old couple’s release, the family went back to the District Administration Office, Kathmandu to resume their hunger strike for justice.
During the 35 days in which the couple was consigned in the mental hospital, neither family members not human rights activists were allowed to visit them. The hospital administration was reportedly very rude with visitors and refused to allow access to the patients under the fallacious pretext that they were deeply ill.
I have previously written to you to bring your attention to the fact that following a family land dispute, on 6 June 2004, Krishna Prasad Adhikari was taken away by men on a motorcycle in Bakullahar Chowk in Bharatpur, Chitwan. Later that day he was gunned down. Nanda’s relatives from Chitwan have said that Krishna had first been tortured by the Maoists before being killed.
Nanda was informed by local Maoists that his son had been “wiped out” and later discovered that his neighbor had falsely informed the Maoists that Krishna had been spying against them. Afterwards, all attempts by the family to find justice at the local level were met with threats and harassment from the perpetrators.
Nanda filed two separate complaints on 11 December 2005 to the District Police Office, Chitwan to ask for investigation into his son’s murder, naming the alleged perpetrators, but the police have not conducted any investigation in the case as the perpetrators had strong political connections.
On 5 April 2009 the National Human Rights Commission decided to recommend to the government to provide the family with Rs. 300,000.00 as compensation, to rehabilitate them to their home and ensure their security. To date, no step was taken to implement those recommendations. The family has also applied to the District Administration Office, Chitwan, the District Police Office, Gorkha, the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction and the President’s Office for justice but has not received any responses from these authorities.
The victim’s family has been displaced from their home. Even after the peace agreement, the alleged perpetrators looted their house, exploited their lands and killed their cattle. They are now living in the streets of Kathmandu and have not received any of the support they were entitled to as conflict victims.
Labeling victims of human rights violations as mentally unbalanced to discredit their fights and silence them is a dictatorial practice which has no room in a democracy. I am extremely concerned by this practice and hope that an investigation will take place to shed light on the circumstances of the parents’ arrest and forceful consignment to a mental hospital and that measures will be taken to prevent such occurrences in the future.
Further, please join us in calling for the prompt investigation of the circumstances having led to Krishna’s killings, and recall the government of Nepal that it is its obligations to hold the murderers accountable for it, provide compensation, protection and rehabilitation to the victim’s family in line with the recommendation of the NHRC.
Yours sincerely,
—————-
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. Khil Raj Regmi
Chairman
Council of Minister
Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Minister of Nepal
Singh Darbar, Kathmandu
P.O. Box: 23312
NEPAL
Tel: +977 1 4211000
Fax: +977 1 4211086
Email: info@opmcm.gov.np
2. Mr. Madhav Prasad Ghimire
Home Minister of Nepal
Home Ministry
Singh Darbar, Kathmandu
NEPAL
Fax: +977 1 42 11 232
3. Mr. Kedar Nath Upadhaya
Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission
Pulchowk, Lalitpur
NEPAL
Fax: +977 1 55 47973
Tel: +977 1 5010015
E-mail: complaints@nhrcnepal.org or nhrc@nhrcnepal.org
4. Attorney General of Nepal
Office of Attorney General
Ramshah Path, Kathmandu
NEPAL
Tel: +977 1 4240210, +977 1 4262548, +977 1 4262394
Fax: +977 1 4262582 / 4218051
Email: info@attorneygeneraal.gov.np
5. Mr. Kuber Singh Rana
Inspector General of Police
Police Head Quarters
Naxal, Kathmandu
NEPAL
Fax: +977 1 4415593
Tel: +977 1 4412432
Email: phqigs@nepalpolice.gov.np
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
