Archive ref no: NCA-18818
Document - Nepal: Further information on Fear for safety/possible "disappearance"
PUBLIC AI Index: ASA 31/046/2003
13 October 2003
Further Information on UA 279/03 (ASA 31/038/2003, 26 September 2003) Fear for safety/possible "disappearance"
NEPAL Lokendra Dhwaj Khand (m), President of student union at Nepal Law Campus Unit
Nirmala Bhandari (f), aged 20, student
Released: Ujjwal Sukla (m), aged 27, lawyer
Amnesty International has learned that Ujjwal Sukla was released from detention at 9.30pm on 28 September. He had been arrested on 23 September by nine members of the security forces, two of whom wore masks.
Ujjwal Sukla was reportedly detained by the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA). He said that he was unable to identify the location where he was held as he was kept blindfolded for much of his detention.Army personnel allegedly interrogated him to find out if he was connected to the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) (Maoist), whichUjjwal Sukla continually denied. On 28 September, army personnel reportedly claimed that Ujjwal Sukla was "innocent" and drove him back to his residence in Kathmandu.
There is no further information on the whereabouts of either Lokendra Dhwaj Khand or Nirmala Bhandari.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English or your own language:
- welcoming the release of Ujjwal Sukla;
- expressing concern for the safety of Lokendra Dhwaj Khand and Nirmala Bhadhari who were reportedly arrested by plain clothes security forces personnel in Kathmandu on 27 August and 15 September respectively;
- urging the authorities to make public their whereabouts, grant them immediate access to their relatives, lawyers and any medical attention they may require;
- calling upon the authorities to guarantee that they are not subjected to torture or ill-treatment while in custody;
- calling for their immediate and unconditional release, unless they are to be charged with a recognizable criminal offence.
APPEALS TO:
General Pyar Jung Thapa
Chief of Army Staff (COAS)
Army Headquarters
Kathmandu, Nepal
Telegram: Commander-in-Chief, Kathmandu, Nepal
Fax: + 977 1 4 242 168
Salutation: Dear Commander-in-Chief
Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa
Prime Minister’s Office
Singha Durbar
Kathmandu, Nepal
Telegram: Prime Minister, Kathmandu, Nepal
Fax: + 977 1 4 227 286 (fax may be switched off outside office hours, 5 ½ hours ahead of GMT)
Salutation: Dear Prime Minister
Brigadier General B A K Sharma
Head, Army Human Rights Cell
Army Headquarters
Kathmandu, Nepal
Telegram: Brigadier General, Kathmandu, Nepal
Fax: + 977 1 4 226 292 / 229 451
Salutation: Dear Brigadier General
Shyam Bhakta Thapa
Inspector General of Police
Police Headquarters
Naxal
Kathmandu, Nepal
Telegram: Inspector General of Police, Kathmandu, Nepal
Fax: + 977 1 4 415 593 / 415 594
Salutation: Dear Inspector General
COPIES TO: Diplomatic representatives of Nepal accredited to your country.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 24 November 2003.