Nepal: Disappearance and Incommunicado detention

Case NPL 101103 Incommunicado detention/Arbitrary arrest The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Nepal. Brief description of the situation The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by INSEC, a member of the OMCT network, of the arrest and incommunicado detention of Sanjay Raya in Nepal. According to the information received, on October 22nd, 2003, Sanjay Raya (age 30) was arrested by approximately 30 plain-clothes security agents. He was arrested at his shop in Janakpur Municipality-8, Ramananda Chowk. A witness, Shivaji Raya of Janakpur-6, reports that the security agents arrived in 3 vehicles: a white pickup truck numbered Ja. 1 Jha. 343, a blue vehicle numbered 3560, and a red vehicle. According to the victim's wife, Radha Devi Raya, he was arrested because security personnel found that he had various electric supplies. All of the goods belonged to Mithila Bihari Shah, a local supplier. However, when his family inquired about his arrest with the local administration, they were denied any information. Mr. Raya's whereabouts are still unknown, and his family fears for his life. Mr. Raya is the Ward-level Coordinator of the Rastrabadi Milan Kendra (Coordination Centre for Nationalists), which is a pro-monarchy organization. The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Sanjay Raya, especially as he has been held in incommunicado detention since his arrest. OMCT calls on the authorities to grant Mr. Raya access to legal counsel and family visits. OMCT calls for the Nepalese government to begin immediate and impartial investigations into this case and to immediately release the detainees in the absence of valid legal charges. If valid legal charges exist, to bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee procedural rights at all times. Action requested Please write to the authorities in Nepal urging them to: i. take all measures necessary to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the afore-mentioned persons; ii. guarantee that the detainees are granted access to legal representation and family visits; iii. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of the arrest, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law; iv. order their immediate release in the absence of legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards, or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times; v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards. Addresses · Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa, Prime Minister's Office, Singha Durbar, Kathmandu, Nepal, Fax:+ 977 1 4 227 286 · General Pyar Jung Thapa, Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Army Headquarters, Kathmandu, Nepal, Fax + 977 1 4 242 168 · Brigadier General B A K Sharma, Head, Army Human Rights Cell, Army Headquarters, Kathmandu, Nepal, Fax: + 977 1 4 226 292 / 229 451 · Ambassador, Acharya, Gyan Chandra, Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Nepal, 81 rue de la Servette, 1201 Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +4122 7332722, E-mail: mission.nepal@ties.itu.int Please also write to the embassies of Nepal in your respective country. Geneva, November 10th, 2003 Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.