Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commision has received updated information that one of the main accused in the murder of Krishna Prasad Adhikari, and the only suspect who has been arrested so far, was released on September 29, 2013. Krishna Prasad Adhikari was abducted and killed by Maoist cadres in 2004 at the heart of the conflict. His parents have been seeking justice since then, to no avail as the perpetrators have benefited from high level political protection. The arrest of one of the suspects in this case, nine years after the murder, has led one of the major parties of Nepal to start a nationwide picketing to vehemently oppose an attempt to hold one of their cadres accountable for human rights violations. The AHRC fears that the accused was only arrested as a token gesture to placate the fight for justice of the victim’s parents and that the investigation will now reach a standstill.
UPDATED INFORMATION:
According to the information we have received, Ram Prasad Adhikari, a cadre of the Maoist party, was released on the 29th of September under the condition that he should report to the police should he be needed for investigation. He had been arrested on September 6th, 2013 in connection with his role in the murder of Krishna Prasad Adhikari in 2004. Following his arrest, the United Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) had announced the picketing of all 75 District Administration Offices in the country to protest his arrest. However he was remanded twice into custody by the Chitwan District Court.
On September 27th, the Chitwan District Police Office submitted its investigation report to the District Attorney Office and recommended jail sentence for Ram Prasad Adhikari and ten other suspects who are all at large. However, the attorney office directed the police to release Ram Prasad Adhikari, saying that there was a lack of evidence to continue the proceedings.
Krishna Prasad Adhikari was killed by Maoist cadres as he was falsely accused of having collaborated with the army following a family and land dispute. Unidentified Maoist cadres abducted him on 6 June 2004 from Bakullahar Chowk in Chitwan District. He was reportedly beaten up and tortured before being brought back to the crossroad he was abducted from and shot dead.
A local Maoist leader reportedly informed his father that his son had been “wiped out”. The family was repeatedly threatened by the perpetrators not to seek justice and was displaced from their home and land.
Although the family immediately filed a complaint in the Chitwan District Police Office and repeatedly approached the Chitwan and Gorkha District Administration Offices, the Gorkha District Police Office, the National Human Rights Commission, the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction, the Prime Minister’s and the President’s Office, no investigation took place in the case. In 2009, the NHRC recommended that the victim’s family should be provided with Rs. 300,000.00 as compensation and measures should be taken to guarantee their security. Those recommendations were never implemented. Instead, the alleged perpetrators have benefited from high level political protection, which have blocked all legal proceedings.
Krishna Prasad’s mother and father went on hunger strike in the streets of Kathmandu in January 2013 and have been repeatedly arrested and harassed by the police. On 14 June, in an attempt to silence them, they were arrested and forcefully confined to a mental hospital for 35 days. During their forced hospitalization, their family members and human rights activists were not provided with an easy access to them. Upon their release they resumed the hunger strike on 21 July, and their health quickly deteriorated. As their struggle received massive media attention, the government has been forced to take steps to save their lives and bring the perpetrators to justice.
On 11 August, the NHRC met with the Home Minister and the government promised to initiate a prompt investigation into the case. However, following this new development, political opposition to the investigation of the case mounted. On August 13th, 2013, the chairperson of the (United) Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Chairperson, Pushpa Kamal Dahal (aka Prachanda) held a press conference. He warned the government not to initiate an investigation into the case, threatening that if an investigation would proceed, the peace process and the elections would be at risk and blaming the human rights defenders who had advocated for justice in this case.
After nine years of continuous fight for justice and in front of mounting political opposition, those who had become known as the “Adhikari couple” finally saw some concrete steps being taken in holding perpetrators accountable for the murder of their son when Ram Prasad Adhikari, was arrested on September 6th. In those circumstances, the release of the only person out of the eleven accused who had faced arrest raises concern that his arrest was just a futile attempt at placating the public opinion and the parents’ fight for justice. This could signify that the government is yielding to political pressure and bringing the investigation and the legal proceedings in that case to a new standstill.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please join us in writing to the authorities listed below and ask them to call upon the Government of Nepal to ensure that the investigation continues in the murder case of Krishna Prasad Adhikari.
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: Release of the main suspect in the murder of Krishna Prasad Adhikari
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
I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the release of one of the main accused in Krishna Prasad Adhikari’s murder case.
According to the information I have received from the Asian Human Rights Commission, Ram Prasad Adhikari, a cadre of the Maoist party, was released on the 29th of September under the condition that he should report to the police should he be needed for investigation. He had been arrested on 6 September 2013 in connection with his role in the murder of Krishna Prasad Adhikari in 2004. Following his arrest, the United Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) had announced the picketing of all 75 District Administration Offices in the country to protest his arrest. However he was remanded twice into custody by the Chitwan District Court.
On September 27th, the Chitwan District Police Office submitted its investigation report to the District Attorney Office and recommended jail sentence for Ram Prasad Adhikari and ten other suspects who are all at large. However, the attorney office directed the police to release Ram Prasad Adhikari, saying that there was a lack of evidence to continue the proceedings.
Krishna Prasad Adhikari was killed by Maoist cadres as he was falsely accused of having collaborated with the army following a family and land dispute. Unidentified Maoist cadres abducted him on 6 June 2004 from Bakullahar Chowk in Chitwan District. He was reportedly beaten up and tortured before being brought back to the crossroad he was abducted from and shot dead. A local Maoist leader reportedly informed his father that his son had been “wiped out”. The family was repeatedly threatened by the perpetrators not to seek justice and was displaced from their home and land.
Although the family immediately filed a complaint in the Chitwan District Police Office and repeatedly approached the Chitwan and Gorkha District Administration Offices, the Gorkha District Police Office, the National Human Rights Commission, the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction, the Prime Minister’s and the President’s Office, no investigation took place in the case. In 2009, the NHRC recommended that the victim’s family should be provided with Rs. 300,000.00 as compensation and measures should be taken to guarantee their security. Those recommendations were never implemented. Instead, the alleged perpetrators have benefited from high level political protection, which have blocked all legal proceedings.
Krishna Prasad’s mother and father went on hunger strike in the streets of Kathmandu in January 2013 and have been repeatedly arrested and harassed by the police. On 14 June, in an attempt to silence them, they were arrested and forcefully confined to a mental hospital for 35 days. During their forced hospitalization, their family members and human rights activists were not provided with an easy access to them. Upon their release they resumed the hunger strike on 21 July, and their health quickly deteriorated. As their struggle received massive media attention, the government has been forced to take steps to save their lives and bring the perpetrators to justice.
On 11 August, the NHRC met with the Home Minister and the government promised to initiate a prompt investigation into the case. However, following this new development, political opposition to the investigation of the case mounted. On 13th August 2013, the chairperson of the (United) Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Chairperson, Pushpa Kamal Dahal (aka Prachanda) held a press conference. He warned the government not to initiate an investigation into the case, threatening that if an investigation would proceed, the peace process and the elections would be at risk and blaming the human rights defenders who had advocated for justice in this case.
After nine years of continuous fight for justice and in front of mounting political opposition, those who had become known as the “Adhikari couple” finally saw some concrete steps being taken in holding perpetrators accountable for the murder of their son when Ram Prasad Adhikari, was arrested on 6th September. In those circumstances, the release of the only person out of the eleven accused who had faced arrest raises concern that his arrest was just a futile attempt at placating the public opinion and the parents’ fight for justice. I am concerned that this could signify that the government is yielding to political pressure and bringing the investigation and the legal proceedings in that case to a new standstill.
I therefore urge you to ensure that the legal proceedings continue in Krishna Prasad Adhikari’s case and that legal actions are taken against the perpetrators as per the recommendations contained in the police report. The human rights activists and parents of the victim must be provided protection at each stage of the investigation.
Yours sincerely,
—————-
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. Khil Raj Regmi
Chairman
Council of Ministers
Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers 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)
