Torture of a 17-year old boy in police custody / Risk for further abuses

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 a reliable source about the torture of Krishna Bahadur Thapa, a 17 year-old boy from Kohalpur Village in Banke District by police officers in the Area Police Office (APO) of Kohalpur in Banke District, Nepal.

According to the information received, on August 14, 2007, Krishna Bahadur Thapa came voluntarily to the Area Police Office in Kohalpur, Banke district, after he heard rumours that the police had been searching him on the charge of stealing computers. Krishna Bahadur explained that he had carried some computers from one place to another place in the afternoon of August 14 as instructed by some unknown persons. He did this job in order to earn pocket money.

As soon as the boy arrived at the police station, without giving him any chance to defend himself, the police inspector Mr. Janak Bahadur Shahi called him to his office and started beating him. Krishna Bahadur reported that Inspector Janak Bahadur beat him heavily with a stick 8 to 10 times on his back and thighs. He also verbally abused him. Krishna Bahadur was then put in a cell. The day after, on August 15, Inspector Janak Bahadur Shahi continued torturing him. As Krishna stated, “Inspector Janak Bahadur came into my room drunk, at about 11 p.m. on August 15. He handcuffed me as well as another detainee named Man Prasad Dahal (see OMCT’s urgent appeal NPL 121007), and then took us outside. The Inspector made us walk in a sitting position, and also made us jump like frogs in the yard of the police station. It was really difficult to jump and run as we had been handcuffed. When I did not follow the Inspector's instruction, he beat my back with a stick. The Inspector then forced me to drink a large amount of water. I do not exactly know how many rounds he made me walk in the yard. I felt dizziness and asked him not to force us to do such things, but the Inspector did not care. Other police officers were present while he perpetrated these acts of torture.” For one week, Krishna was tortured every day with different practices.

On September 11, the single bench of the District Court of Banke decided to charge Krishna Bahadur with theft and to send him to the Banke District Jail as he was not able to pay bail (Rupees 532,000). The boy is still being kept in this jail. He is kept with adults, which increases the risk of being victim of abuses.

OMCT expresses its grave concern over this event. OMCT would like to remind Nepal that under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Nepal is party, “States Parties shall ensure that: no child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” (article 37 (a)). OMCT is also particularly concerned about the fact that Krishna Bahadur is 17 years old and should be legally considered a child. Indeed, with regard to the treatment of children involved in the penal system, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recently reminded “States Parties [among which Nepal] that they have recognized the right of every child alleged as, accused of, or recognized as having infringed the penal law to be treated in accordance with the provisions of article 40 CRC. This means that every person under the age of 18 years at the time of the alleged commission of an offence must be treated under the rules of juvenile justice” in its General Comment n°10 (2007), Children’s rights in juvenile justice, CRC/C/GC/10, 9 February 2007, paragraph 21. It is urgent that both Nepalese legislation and practice be brought into compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Action Requested:

Please write a letter to the authorities in Nepal urging them to:

1. Guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity of Krishna Bahadur Thapa;
2. Drop the charges against him in the absence of valid legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards, or if such charges exist, bring him before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee his procedural rights at all times;
3. Order a thorough and impartial investigation into these events, notably into the circumstances of the acts of torture against Krishna Bahadur Thapa, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
4. Ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standard.

Addresses:

• Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula, Government of Nepal, Ministry of Home Affairs, Singha Durbar, Kathmandu, Nepal. Tel: +977 1 4211211 / 4211229, Fax: 97714211232 Email: moha@wlink.com.np
• Mr. Baman Prasad Neupane, HR Cell, Government of Nepal Ministry of Home Affairs, Singha Durbar, Kathmandu, Nepal. Tel: + 977 1 4 211 205/ 97714211206 Fax: +977 1 4211266
• IGP Om Bikram Rana, Chief, Nepal Police Head Quarter, Naxal, Kathmandu, Nepal, PO. Box No.: 407, Tel: +977 1 4 412 737 / +977 1 4 412 732, Fax: +977 1 4 415 593. Email : phqigs@nepalpolice.com.np ; info@nepalpolice.gov.np
• SP Nava Raj Silwal, HR Cell, Nepal Police Head Quarter, Naxal, Kathmandu, Nepal PO. Box. No.: 407, Tel: +977 1 4 411 618 Fax : 9771415593 E-mail: hrcell@nepalpolice.gov.np
• Mr. Yagya Murti Banjade, Attorney General, Office of Attorney General Ramshahpath, Kathmandu, NEPAL, Fax: +977 1 4262582, Email: attorney@mos.com.np
• Mr.Kedar Nath Uppadhya, Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Pulchowck, Lalitpur, Nepal; Email: nhrc@nhrcnepal.org ; complaints@nhrcnepal.org, Fax: +977 1 5547973
• Ambassador Acharya, Gyan Chandra, Permanent Mission of Nepal, 81 rue de la Servette, 1201 Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +4122 7332722, E-mail: mission.nepal@ties.itu.int
• Ambassador Thata Yarayan, Embassy of Nepal in Brussels, Brugmannlaan 210, 1180 Brussels, Tel: +32 2 346 26 58 / 2 346 66 38, Fax: +32 2 344 13 61, E-mail: rne.bru@skynet.be

Please also write to the embassies of Nepal in your respective country.

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Geneva, 12 October 2007

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.