Serious concerns for the safety of Mr. Sushan Limbu and Mr. Bhakta Rai at risk of further torture and other ill-treatment

Torture and ill-treatment/ Lack of adequate medical care/ Denial of due process/ Fear for safety/ Risk of impunity

The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (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 and Antenna International, a member of OMCT SOS-Torture Network, about the torture and other ill-treatment of Mr. Sushan Limbu, 23 years old, permanent resident of Urlabari VDC-2, in Morang district, and Mr. Bhakta Rai, resident of Pathari VDC-1, in Morang district, in police custody. OMCT fears that they may be at risk of further torture and ill-treatment. Both are currently detained at Belbari police station.

According to the information received, on 12 July 2009, Mr. Sushan Limbu was arrested by police reportedly for non payment of a hotel bill and taken to the Urlabari area police post in Morang district. On 13 July 2009, at around 7am, Mr. Sushan Limbu was beaten, along with his friend, Mr. Bhakta Rai, who had gone to the police station to inquire about Mr. Sushan Limbu, for about one hour inside the detention cell. They were then taken to a public place outside the police post where they were allegedly stripped to their underwear and beaten with iron rods, kicked with boots and punched by two policemen. They were then forced to crawl on their knees and elbows on a pebble and concrete surface. Many witnesses reportedly saw the scene and recorded the events on their mobile phones. Mr. Sushan Limbu reportedly sustained wounds in his rights eye, face, elbow, knees, bottom and neck.

According to the same information, Mr. Sushan Limbu and Mr. Bhakta Rai were prevented to see their families. Police took both of them to the Urlabari primary healthcare treatment centre but they were examined in presence of the police and were not prescribed any medicine. Only after the family and relatives of Mr. Sushan Limbu pressured the police, was Mr. Sushan Limbu reportedly brought to Birat Nursing Home, in Biratnagar, on 15 July 2009. However, according to the same information, while the doctors recommended his hospitalisation, he was taken back to the police station.

On 19 July 2009, Mr. Sushan Limbu’s sister filed an application for a writ of habeas corpus in the Appellate Court at Biratnagar on behalf of both victims, following which the Appellate Court ordered the Urlabari area police to present the victim within 24 hours with written responses. On 20 July 2009, the police reportedly brought both victims to Koshi Zonal Hospital for further treatment and then presented them before the Appellate Court.

However, on 21 July 2009, police reportedly submitted a detention order issued by the chief district officer to the court, indicting both Mr. Sushan Limbu and Mr. Bhakta Rai under the Arms and Ammunition Act and under the Public Offences Act. The chief district officer reportedly informed the Appellate Court that he extended the remand of both individuals to 24 hours after the police had brought them before him, following which the Appellate Court rejected the habeas corpus petition but ordered the police to have both detainees examined by a medical professional as well as to provide adequate medical treatment.

It is reported that the police has been collecting signatures from local people, including politicians, to support the action of the police, stating that it was in view of stopping crime in the area.

The International Secretariat of OMCT expresses its deep concern about the torture and ill-treatment inflicted upon Mr. Sushan Limbu and Mr. Bhakta Rai in police custody. OMCT fears for their safety as they remain detained under same police control, Belbari police station being under Urlabari area police post, and, according to the information received, are being pressured by the police not to submit further complaints. OMCT is also deeply concerned about their health condition that would require immediate adequate medical care.

OMCT has also been informed that human rights organisations, which visited both individuals in police custody on 15 July 2009, were threatened. Police also reportedly visited Mr. Sushan Limbu’s family and forcibly deleted the video footage of the public beating from their mobile phones.

OMCT therefore calls on the competent Nepalese authorities to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Sushan Limbu and Mr. Bhakta Rai at all times in accordance with international human rights law, in particular the provisions of the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, and to order their immediate transfer to another detention centre, where they are not at risk of further torture and other ill-treatment.

OMCT recalls that Nepal is a State party to the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which both prohibit torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. In line with their obligations under these treaties, it is incumbent on the competent authorities to consider seriously any allegations of torture and other forms of ill-treatment, and to undertake a prompt, effective, thorough, independent and impartial investigation in this regard.

Finally, OMCT recalls Article 11 of the Convention against Torture which stipulates that “Each State Party shall keep under systematic review interrogation rules, instructions, methods and practices as well as arrangements for the custody and treatment of persons subjected to any form of arrest, detention or imprisonment in any territory under its jurisdiction, with a view to preventing any cases of torture”and article 15 of the said Convention, “Each State Party shall ensure that any statement which is established to have been made as a result of torture shall not be invoked as evidence in any proceedings (…)”.

Action requested

Please write to the authorities in Nepal urging them to:

1. Guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Sushan Limbu and Mr. Bhakta Rai, as well as of their families;
2. Order their immediate transfer to another detention centre, where they are not at risk of further torture and other ill-treatment;
3. Guarantee immediate and unconditional access to their lawyers and families, as well as guarantee that both are examined by independent doctors and receives adequate medical care, in accordance, inter alia, with the recommendations of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners;
4. Carry out a prompt, effective, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the reports of torture and other forms of ill-treatment, the result of which must be made public, in order to bring those responsible before a competent, independent and impartial tribunal and apply penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
5. Order their immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges that are consistent with international legal standards, or if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
6. Guarantee that no evidence obtained under torture and other forms of ill-treatment, or threats thereof, be used in court proceedings against Mr. Sushan Limbu and Mr. Bhakta Rai as stipulated in Article 15 of the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;
7. Ensure that adequate, effective and prompt reparation, including adequate compensation, proper medical care and rehabilitation, is granted to the victims;
8. Ensure the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.

Addresses

• Home Minister Mr. Bhim Rawal, Ministry of Home Affairs, Singha Darbar, Kathmandu, Nepal. Tel: +977 1 4211211 / 4211264, Fax: +977 1 42 11 232
• Inspector General of Police, Ramesh Chand ( Thakuri) Police Head Quarters, Naxal, Kathmandu, Nepal, PO. Box No.: 407, Tel: +977 1 4 412 432, Fax: +977 1 4 415 593. Email: info@nepalpolice.gov.np
• Attorney General Mr, Bharat Bahadur Karki, Office of Attorney General Ramshahpath, Kathmandu, Nepal, Fax: +977 1 4262582, Email: attorney@mos.com.np, info@attorneygeneral@gov.np
• Chief of Human Rights Cell of police, Mr. Bijayaraj Kayastha , Human Rights Cell, Nepal Police, Kathmandu, Nepal PO. Box. No.: 407, Fax : +977 1 4415593 E-mail: hrcell@nepalpolice.gov.np
• Mr. Kedar Nath Uppadhya, Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Pulchowck, Lalitpur, Nepal; Email: nhrc@nhrcnepal.org and also complaints@nhrcnepal.org, Fax: +977 1 5547973

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

Geneva, 23 July 2009

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