Nepal
23.02.04
Urgent Interventions
Nepal: arbitrary arrest and forced disappearance of two lawyers
Case NPL 230204
Arbitrary arrest / Forced disappearance / Risk to personal integrity
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 of the arbitrary arrest and forced disappearance of two lawyers in Nepal.
According to the information received, Mr. Bal Krishana Devkota, 39, a lawyer and permanent resident of Sita Paila VDC Ward no.2 Kathmandu, was arrested from his residence by a group of security personnel (three security personnel) at 11pm on 21st February 2004.
According to the information provided by his wife, Sita Devkota, three security personal in plain clothes came to his house at around 11 pm and knocked on the door. They entered into the house and started questioning Bal Krishana Devkota. He replied that he is a lawyer and practices at the Supreme Court. Bal Krishana Devkota asked them to show him their identity cards, which they did, before searching the house. They then asked Bal Krishana Devkota to go with them for further questioning and took him away.
After his arrest, his wife contacted him in his mobile at around 12.00 o’clock on February 22nd, 2004, someone answered the phone and replied that he was sleeping. The next morning she again tried to call him in his mobile phone, but it had been switched off. His whereabouts remain unknown, giving rise to fears for his personal integrity.
In a separate incident, Mr. Dhananjaya Khanal, a practicing lawyer, was also arrested at around 11pm during the night of February 21st, 2004. He was arrested by a group of army personnel at his residence in Sanepa Kathmandu. His whereabouts also remain unknown.
Mr. Khanal is from Vimad VDC -1, Tanahun District and has been working as a lawyer with the Central Legal Service, Maitighar Kathmandu. On February 21st, 2004 at around 11 o'clock a group of plain-clothed security personnel surrounded his rented house in Sanepa-2 Lalitpur and arrested him. As soon as they had arrested Mr. Khanal, they put hood on his head and handcuffed him.
It is suspected that both these lawyers have been arrested for defending persons accused under the provisions of the TADA (anti-terrorist legislation of Nepal). OMCT notes with concern a recent spate of arrests of lawyers in Nepal. OMCT was recently informed by the International Commission of Jurists of the arrests and forced disappearances of seven other lawyers in recent months. The ICJ signalled concerns that lawyers were increasingly becoming targeted by the authorities due to them being “associated” with their clients.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Bal Krishana Devkota and Mr. Dhananjaya Khanal, as their whereabouts remain unknown, giving rise to fears that they may be being subjected to ill-treatment, torture or potentially extra-judicial execution. OMCT calls on the authorities to immediately locate the whereabouts of these two persons, guarantee their personal integrity at all times and order their release in the absence of legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards. Furthermore, OMCT calls on the authorities to launch prompt, thorough and impartial investigations into the circumstances of these events in order to find those responsible for any violations of human rights and to bring them to justice. OMCT urges the authorities to ensure that lawyers are no longer targeted in this way and are allowed to carry out their professional duties without running the risk of being subjected to arrest and disappearance.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Nepal urging them to:
i. immediately locate the whereabouts of lawyers Mr. Bal Krishana Devkota and Mr. Dhananjaya Khanal;
ii. take all measures necessary to guarantee their physical and psychological integrity;
iii. 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;
iv. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these events, notably the alleged arbitrary arrests and forced disappearances of the two laywers, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
v. guarantee that adequate reparation is provided to the victims of these abuses;
vi. 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
· Deputy Brigadier General Nirendra Prasad Aryal, 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, February 23rd, 2004
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Arbitrary arrest / Forced disappearance / Risk to personal integrity
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 of the arbitrary arrest and forced disappearance of two lawyers in Nepal.
According to the information received, Mr. Bal Krishana Devkota, 39, a lawyer and permanent resident of Sita Paila VDC Ward no.2 Kathmandu, was arrested from his residence by a group of security personnel (three security personnel) at 11pm on 21st February 2004.
According to the information provided by his wife, Sita Devkota, three security personal in plain clothes came to his house at around 11 pm and knocked on the door. They entered into the house and started questioning Bal Krishana Devkota. He replied that he is a lawyer and practices at the Supreme Court. Bal Krishana Devkota asked them to show him their identity cards, which they did, before searching the house. They then asked Bal Krishana Devkota to go with them for further questioning and took him away.
After his arrest, his wife contacted him in his mobile at around 12.00 o’clock on February 22nd, 2004, someone answered the phone and replied that he was sleeping. The next morning she again tried to call him in his mobile phone, but it had been switched off. His whereabouts remain unknown, giving rise to fears for his personal integrity.
In a separate incident, Mr. Dhananjaya Khanal, a practicing lawyer, was also arrested at around 11pm during the night of February 21st, 2004. He was arrested by a group of army personnel at his residence in Sanepa Kathmandu. His whereabouts also remain unknown.
Mr. Khanal is from Vimad VDC -1, Tanahun District and has been working as a lawyer with the Central Legal Service, Maitighar Kathmandu. On February 21st, 2004 at around 11 o'clock a group of plain-clothed security personnel surrounded his rented house in Sanepa-2 Lalitpur and arrested him. As soon as they had arrested Mr. Khanal, they put hood on his head and handcuffed him.
It is suspected that both these lawyers have been arrested for defending persons accused under the provisions of the TADA (anti-terrorist legislation of Nepal). OMCT notes with concern a recent spate of arrests of lawyers in Nepal. OMCT was recently informed by the International Commission of Jurists of the arrests and forced disappearances of seven other lawyers in recent months. The ICJ signalled concerns that lawyers were increasingly becoming targeted by the authorities due to them being “associated” with their clients.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Bal Krishana Devkota and Mr. Dhananjaya Khanal, as their whereabouts remain unknown, giving rise to fears that they may be being subjected to ill-treatment, torture or potentially extra-judicial execution. OMCT calls on the authorities to immediately locate the whereabouts of these two persons, guarantee their personal integrity at all times and order their release in the absence of legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards. Furthermore, OMCT calls on the authorities to launch prompt, thorough and impartial investigations into the circumstances of these events in order to find those responsible for any violations of human rights and to bring them to justice. OMCT urges the authorities to ensure that lawyers are no longer targeted in this way and are allowed to carry out their professional duties without running the risk of being subjected to arrest and disappearance.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Nepal urging them to:
i. immediately locate the whereabouts of lawyers Mr. Bal Krishana Devkota and Mr. Dhananjaya Khanal;
ii. take all measures necessary to guarantee their physical and psychological integrity;
iii. 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;
iv. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these events, notably the alleged arbitrary arrests and forced disappearances of the two laywers, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
v. guarantee that adequate reparation is provided to the victims of these abuses;
vi. 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
· Deputy Brigadier General Nirendra Prasad Aryal, 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, February 23rd, 2004
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.