Nepal
07.09.04
Urgent Interventions
Nepal: Forthcoming release of Mr. S. K. Pradhan
URGENT APPEAL – THE OBSERVATORY
New Information
NPL 002/0904/OBS 69
Release
Nepal
September 7, 2004
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Nepal.
Brief description of the situation:
This appeal is a follow-up on the legal situation of Mr. S. K. Pradhan, Secretary-General of the Peoples Forum for Human Rights and Democracy (PFHRD), a Nepal-based Bhutanese human rights association. Mr. Pradhan’s case was treated in two open letters by the Observatory (one disseminated on 16 November 2001 and another on 6 May 2004) to the Prime Minister of Nepal.
The Observatory has been informed of the forthcoming release of Mr. Pradhan. The Observatory welcomes the decision of the District Court of Chandragari, Jhapa, to release of Mr. Pradhan on September 21, 2004 and would like to thank all the individuals and the institutions who intervened on behalf of Mr. Pradhan.
This judgement given on August 22, 2004 sentenced Mr. Pradhan to three years imprisonment to be completed on September 21, 2004. The Observatory regrets that it took nearly three years from the arrest of Mr. Pradhan in September 2001 for the judiciary to make a decision on his case. Moreover, the Observatory is worried about Mr. Pradhan’s health which deteriorated during his detention.
The Observatory calls upon the authorities in Nepal to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Pradhan and to ensure that he will be released on September 21, 2004 in accordance with the District Court’s decision.
Background information:
Mr. Pradhan has been actively associated with the movement for human rights and democracy in Bhutan for the last decade and his actions have found an echo within the international community. In 1993, during the 49th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva he denounced the situation of Bhutanese people and refugees and since then, he has been working for the cause of Bhutanese refugees at almost all UN forums and World Conferences including the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993 and the latest UN World Conference against Racism in Durban, where the accreditation of PFHRD was strongly challenged by the Royal Government of Bhutan.
Mr. Pradhan was arrested on September 19th 2001 at his home in Kathmandu by policemen in plainclothes that did not present him with an arrest warrant. He was charged with involvement in the murder of Mr. R. K. Budhathoki, chairman of the Bhutan Peoples’ Party (BPP), which took place on September 9th 2001, when he was holding a meeting with several refugee students in the office of the Youth Organisation of Bhutan (YOB) in Damak, Jhapa.
Mr. Pradhan had been arrested on the basis of written complaints made by Mr. Balaram, Secretary-General of the BPP, without any proof. Allegedly, at the time of the murder, Mr. Pradhan was in Kathmandu, which is at a distance of 500 km from Damak as he had just returned from South Africa where he had attended the UN World Conference on Racism.
On 16 October 2001, after 25 days of detention, Mr. Pradhan appeared for his first hearing before the District Court where his lawyers asked for his release on bail. The bail was rejected by the Court because Mr. Pradhan is a refugee and not a Nepalese citizen. He was subsequently held in detention.
On May 2, 2004, the District Court of Chandragari, Jhapa, postponed Mr. S.K. Pradhan’s trial to May 9, 2004. This is the nineteenth time the trial has been postponed since he was arrested on September 19, 2001. This was reportedly due to the fact that the Chief Judge, Mr. Tanka Bahadur Moktan, was unavailable that day. In September 2004, Mr. Pradhan was still being in detention.
Action requested:
Please write to the authorities in Nepal urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Pradhan and to carry out his release on September 21, 2004 in accordance with the District Court’s decision.
ii. ensure the implementation of the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN general Assembly on December 9, 1998 in particular its article 1, which provides that "every person has the right, individually or collectively, to promote the protection and fulfilment of human rights and fundamental liberties at the national and international level" and article 12.2 which provides that "the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually or in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration.";
iii. guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and other international human rights instruments.
Addresses:
*****
Paris – Geneva, September 7, 2004
Kindly inform the Observatory of any action undertaken quoting the code number of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, an FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.
The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
Tel and fax: FIDH : +33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT : + 41 22 809 49 39 / 809 49 29
E-mail : observatoire@iprolink.ch
New Information
NPL 002/0904/OBS 69
Release
Nepal
September 7, 2004
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Nepal.
Brief description of the situation:
This appeal is a follow-up on the legal situation of Mr. S. K. Pradhan, Secretary-General of the Peoples Forum for Human Rights and Democracy (PFHRD), a Nepal-based Bhutanese human rights association. Mr. Pradhan’s case was treated in two open letters by the Observatory (one disseminated on 16 November 2001 and another on 6 May 2004) to the Prime Minister of Nepal.
The Observatory has been informed of the forthcoming release of Mr. Pradhan. The Observatory welcomes the decision of the District Court of Chandragari, Jhapa, to release of Mr. Pradhan on September 21, 2004 and would like to thank all the individuals and the institutions who intervened on behalf of Mr. Pradhan.
This judgement given on August 22, 2004 sentenced Mr. Pradhan to three years imprisonment to be completed on September 21, 2004. The Observatory regrets that it took nearly three years from the arrest of Mr. Pradhan in September 2001 for the judiciary to make a decision on his case. Moreover, the Observatory is worried about Mr. Pradhan’s health which deteriorated during his detention.
The Observatory calls upon the authorities in Nepal to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Pradhan and to ensure that he will be released on September 21, 2004 in accordance with the District Court’s decision.
Background information:
Mr. Pradhan has been actively associated with the movement for human rights and democracy in Bhutan for the last decade and his actions have found an echo within the international community. In 1993, during the 49th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva he denounced the situation of Bhutanese people and refugees and since then, he has been working for the cause of Bhutanese refugees at almost all UN forums and World Conferences including the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993 and the latest UN World Conference against Racism in Durban, where the accreditation of PFHRD was strongly challenged by the Royal Government of Bhutan.
Mr. Pradhan was arrested on September 19th 2001 at his home in Kathmandu by policemen in plainclothes that did not present him with an arrest warrant. He was charged with involvement in the murder of Mr. R. K. Budhathoki, chairman of the Bhutan Peoples’ Party (BPP), which took place on September 9th 2001, when he was holding a meeting with several refugee students in the office of the Youth Organisation of Bhutan (YOB) in Damak, Jhapa.
Mr. Pradhan had been arrested on the basis of written complaints made by Mr. Balaram, Secretary-General of the BPP, without any proof. Allegedly, at the time of the murder, Mr. Pradhan was in Kathmandu, which is at a distance of 500 km from Damak as he had just returned from South Africa where he had attended the UN World Conference on Racism.
On 16 October 2001, after 25 days of detention, Mr. Pradhan appeared for his first hearing before the District Court where his lawyers asked for his release on bail. The bail was rejected by the Court because Mr. Pradhan is a refugee and not a Nepalese citizen. He was subsequently held in detention.
On May 2, 2004, the District Court of Chandragari, Jhapa, postponed Mr. S.K. Pradhan’s trial to May 9, 2004. This is the nineteenth time the trial has been postponed since he was arrested on September 19, 2001. This was reportedly due to the fact that the Chief Judge, Mr. Tanka Bahadur Moktan, was unavailable that day. In September 2004, Mr. Pradhan was still being in detention.
Action requested:
Please write to the authorities in Nepal urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Pradhan and to carry out his release on September 21, 2004 in accordance with the District Court’s decision.
ii. ensure the implementation of the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN general Assembly on December 9, 1998 in particular its article 1, which provides that "every person has the right, individually or collectively, to promote the protection and fulfilment of human rights and fundamental liberties at the national and international level" and article 12.2 which provides that "the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually or in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration.";
iii. guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and other international human rights instruments.
Addresses:
- His Majesty King Gyanendra
Narayanhity Royal Palace, Durbar Marg; Kathmandu, Nepal
Fax : 97 7-1-227395 / 411955 - Mr. Sher Bahdur Deuba
Prime Minister, Office of the Prime Minister, Singha Durbar; Kathmandu, Nepal
Fax: +977 1 4 227 765 / +977 1 227286 - Shyam Bhakta Thapa
Inspector General of Police, Police Headquarters, Naxal; Kathmandu, Nepal
Fax: + 977 1 4 415 593 / 415 594 - H. E. Gyan Chandra Acharya
Ambassador, 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 - Mr. Nain Bahadur Khatri
Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Pulchowck, Lalitpur, Nepal
Fax: +9771 5 547 973; Email: nhrc@ntc.net.np
*****
Paris – Geneva, September 7, 2004
Kindly inform the Observatory of any action undertaken quoting the code number of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, an FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.
The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
Tel and fax: FIDH : +33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT : + 41 22 809 49 39 / 809 49 29
E-mail : observatoire@iprolink.ch