Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is in receipt of information regarding the torture of Mr. Nar Bahadur Bista by police personnel from Mahendranagar District Police Office on 1 March 2006. Though arrested and detained on March 1, the victim was not provided a detention letter until March 12. After a lawyer from Advocacy Forum filed an application to the District Court on behalf of the victim, it was learned that ten policemen went in search of him.
Mr. Bista, a 22-year-old male, and permanent resident of Kanchanpur District Mahendranagar Municipality-13, Badaipur was arrested by police personnel from Mahendranagar DPO on March 1 on the charge of murder. The DPO handed him a detention letter only on March 12.
He was first remanded by the District Court for three days on March 12, and on March 15 his remand was extended for a further seven days. During his detention Mr. Bista was tortured by personnel from the Mahendranagar DPO; in fact he was tortured to the point that he had difficulty in breathing. As a result, on March 14, Mr. Bista was admitted to the Mahakali Zonal Hospital to receive treatment for the injuries he sustained. He was produced before the court from the hospital itself when he attended on March 15.
On March 15, when Mr. Bista was brought to the court for remand extension, a lawyer from Advocacy Forum managed to talk with him about his condition. During the talk, he was quoted as saying:
“Two policemen clutched my hands and Police Inspector Deepak Regmi hit me on my chest, knees and legs with a stick. They beat me for two nights. I don’t know the dates that I was beaten. They tortured me until I confessed to crime. I was so scared and concerned of my life that I confessed to crime. The inspector was saying that he would reduce my age by 30 years by means of beating. At present, I am surviving on fluid intakes by the suggestion of the doctor.”
Mr. Bista could not provide any other details of his torture due to his severe health condition. His family are currently meeting all treatment expenses during his hospital stay.
An Advocacy Forum lawyer has filed an application on behalf of the victim to the District Court. There were some ten policemen in the court at the time of the lawyer doing this. It has since been learned that the police, upon hearing of the application, went searching for the person who had filed the case before the court.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the relevant authorities listed below seeking their intervention in this case. An independent and thorough investigation should be conducted into the arrest, detention and torture of the victim and charges must be laid against any person found responsible for the allegations that have been made. Action must also be taken against those responsible for indirectly threatening the victims lawyer.
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SAMPLE LETTER
Dear __________,
NEPAL: Custodial torture of a man followed by threats against his lawyer
Name of victim: Mr. Nar Bahadur Bista, 22-years-old, a permanent resident of Kanchanpur District, Mahendranagar Muncipality -13, Badaipur
Name of alleged perpetrators: Police personnel from the Mahendranagar District Police Office (DPO), including Police Inspector Deepak Regmi
Place of incident: Mahendranagar District Police Office
Date of incident: 1 March 2006 to now
I am most disturbed to hear of the torture of a man while in the custody of the Mahendranagar District Police Office (DPO). According to the information I have received, Mr. Nar Bahadur Bista was arrested by police personnel from Mahendranagar DPO on March 1 on the charge of murder. The DPO handed him a detention letter only on March 12.
It is understood that Mr. Bista was first remanded by the District Court for three days on March 12, and on March 15 his remand was extended for a further seven days. During his detention Mr. Bista was tortured by personnel from the Mahendranagar DPO. As a result, on March 14, Mr. Bista was admitted to the Mahakali Zonal Hospital to receive treatment for the injuries he sustained. He was produced before the court from the hospital itself when he attended on March 15.
On March 15, when Mr. Bista was brought to the court for remand extension, a lawyer from Advocacy Forum managed to talk with him about his condition. During the talk, Mr. Bista noted that two policemen clutched his hands and Police Inspector Deepak Regmi hit him on his chest, knees and legs with a stick. This beating continued for two days until the point that Mr. Bista confessed to the crime, despite having only done so to stop the assault on him.
Mr. Bista could provide the lawyer only few details of his torture due to his severe health condition. His family are currently meeting all treatment expenses during his hospital stay.
An Advocacy Forum lawyer has filed an application on behalf of the victim to the District Court. When doing this, there were some ten policemen present at the court. It has since been learned that the police, upon hearing of the application, went searching for the person who had filed the case before the court.
I therefore strongly urge you to intervene in this matter. An independent and thorough investigation should be conducted into the arrest, detention and torture of the victim and charges must be laid against any person found responsible for the allegations that have been made. As a state party to the UN Convention Against Torture (CAT), the Government of Nepal has an international obligation to do this. It should also ensure that urgent and efficient protection measures are provided to the victim so that he can pursue the case and seek justice for the crimes committed against him. Immediate steps must also be taken to provide proper medical treatment to the victim, as these costs should not be being met by himself or his family. Finally, action must also be taken against those responsible for indirectly threatening the victims lawyer.
Yours sincerely,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. Ian Martin
Chief of Mission
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights- Nepal Office
UN House, Pulchowk
Kathmandu
NEPAL
Tel: +977 1 5524 366 or 5523 200
Fax: +977 1 5523 991 or 5523 986
Email: hrinfounit@undp.org
2. His Majesty King Gyanendra
Narayanhity Royal Palace
Durbar Marg
Kathmandu
NEPAL
Tel: 977 14 413577/227577
Fax: 977 14 227395/ 411955
3. Laxmi Bahadur Nirala
Attorney General
Office of the Attorney General
Ramshahpath, Kathmandu
NEPAL
Tel: +977 14 262548 (direct line)/262394 (through Personal Assistant)
Fax: +977 14 262582
Email: fpattorney@most.gov.np
4. Mr. Nain Bahadur Khatri
Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission
Pulchowck, Lalitpur
NEPAL
Tel: +977 1 5 547 974 or 525 659 or 547 975
Fax: +9771 5 547 973
Email: nhrc@ntc.net.np
5. Prof. Manfred Nowak
Special Rapporteur on the question of torture
Attn: Mr. Safir Syed
OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9230
Fax: +41 22 917 9016 (general)
E-mail: ssyed@ohchr.org
6. Ms Leila Zerrougui
Chairperson
Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
Attn: Mr Miguel de la Lama
OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTENTION: WORKING GROUP ARBITRARY DETENTION)
Email: mdelalama@ohchr.org
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)
