March 8, 2013

URGENT APPEAL – HOW YOU CAN HELP
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 on the following situation in Nepal.
The World Organisation Against Torture (Organisation
Mondiale Contre la Torture, OMCT) is the world’s largest coalition of
non-governmental organisations fighting against arbitrary detention, torture,
summary and extrajudicial executions, forced disappearances and other forms of
violence. The global network consists of almost 300 local, national and
regional organisations, which share the goal of eradicating torture and
fostering respect of human rights for all.
Brief description of the situation:
The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about
the physical assault against Mr. Yadav Prasad Bastola, Executive Director of
Human Rights Alliance[1], Central Office, Kathmandu, by four alleged Maoists
cadres who beat him with iron rods more than 40 times, accusing him of
attempting to jail and prosecute Maoists cadres for human rights violations
committed during the conflict period (1996 - 2006) by writing articles and
organising programmes on human rights violations and impunity in different
parts of Nepal, as well as about threats against several members of
Accountability Watch Committee (AWC), namely Ms. Mandira Sharma, Chairperson of
Advocacy Forum-Nepal, Mr. Subodh Pyakhurel, Chairperson of the Informal Sector
Service Centre (INSEC), Mr. Kanak Mani Dixit, a journalist and editor of Himal
magazine and other publications, Mr. Sushil Pyakhurel, Chair of AWC, Mr. Charan
Prasai, Coordinator of the Joint Forum for Human Rights, and Mr. Kapil
Shrestha, both members of AWC.
According to the information received, on February 28, 2013,
Mr. Yadav Prasad Bastola was returning home from Birendranagar municipality,
Surkhet district, where he had organised a workshop on “Impunity and
Post-conflict Justice” on behalf of Human Rights Alliance the day before, when
he was seriously assaulted by four unidentified persons at around 7.30 pm in
the jungle of Srinagar in Vidhyapur Village Development Committee (VDC)-05, 30
minutes away from his home.
Reportedly, two of the men, who had covered their faces with
masks and had been following him for some time already, stopped Mr. Yadav
Prasad Bastola and asked him if he was a human rights defender. The latter
confirmed, and asked them if they needed his support. One of them then said:
“Aren't you the person who is trying to jail the Maoists?” The men caught his
hands and neck, and were joined by two other unidentified persons. The attackers
said: “You write against Maoists and travel different parts of Nepal organising
programmes against Maoists. You write accusing us of being involved in human
rights violations during the conflict period. You are trying to jail us”. The
men hit Mr. Yadav Prasad Bastola four times on his back with iron rods. One
also tried to hit him on the head, but Mr. Bastola managed to protect himself
with his hands, leaving his left wrist injured. As the men continued beating
him with iron rods, he fell on the ground. He tried to protect his head with
his hands, bending on his knees and elbows, but the men continued beating him
and kicking him with their boots. While beating him they said, “You write
against Maoists party to support the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML Parties. We
will kill you here”. Luckily, as two motorcycles suddenly came towards the
group, the assaulters ran away towards the jungle, and Mr. Yadav Prasad Bastola
managed to run towards a nearby village, where villagers called the police.
Some villagers and policemen took him to a local hospital in a stretcher, where
he received first aid. At around 10 pm the same day, a police van took him to
Deuti Nursing Home, Surkhet district, for further treatment. On March 1, 2013,
he was discharged from the hospital.
On February 27, 2013, a local newspaper, the Pahichan Daily,
had published an article written by Mr. Bastola on impunity in an
extra-judicial killing of a man from his VDC named Surya Prasad Poudel by
Maoists cadres during the conflict period in Nepal. The article had focused on
the need to provide compensation to the victim's family members and to
investigate thoroughly the conflict era crimes.
On March 1, 2013, Mr. Yadav Prasad Bastola filed a First
Information Report (FIR) at the District Police Office of Surkhet. According to
the police, an investigation is currently in progress. Moreover, the National
Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of Nepal subsequently condemned the serious
assault on Mr. Bastola.
Furthermore, the Observatory is also concerned by threats
that were issued recently through the media against several members of AWC, a
forum of leading human rights defenders fighting against impunity in Nepal, by
the Maoist mouthpiece magazine Lal Rakshak (Red Defender), the blog
Krishnasenonline, and various other local Maoist-affiliated papers and FM radio
stations.
In the article published in the edition for January-February
of Lal Rakshak, Ms. Mandira Sharma, Mr. Subodh Pyakhurel, and Mr. Kanak Mani
Dixit were accused of “going against the Maoists, Maoist political agenda and
change”. Other defenders named were Mr. Sushil Pyakhurel, Mr. Charan Prasai,
and Mr. Kapil Shrestha. They were accused of being traitors, enemies of the
people, peace spoilers, and dollar mongerers, among other insults, and the
article encouraged that “people's action should be taken against them”[2].
This appeal was repeated in a number of local Maoist
newspapers, including in Gandaki Awaj published from Pokhara on January 21,
2013 under the headline (translated): "Real face of Kanak, Subodh and
Mandira". A newspaper Taja Khabar published from Rupandehi on January 22,
2013 repeated the same story with the headline (translated):
"Dollar-mongers search murderers". A similar article was published in
an online news portal Onlinekhabar. Furthermore, the appeal for “people’s
action” was also broadcasted repeatedly on Maoist FM radio stations around the
country. On Krishnasenonline, the main Maoist news portal, Unified Communist
Party of Nepal (Maoist) - UCPN Spokesperson Agni Sapkota commented that “some
NGOs supposedly working for human rights are acting against national interest”.
He added that these NGOs “prefer dollars to nation and nationalism” and that
“for green dollars, some people have called imperialist Britain to have Colonel
Kumar Lama arrested”, naming Ms. Sharma and Advocacy Forum as being responsible
for Mr. Lama’s arrest.
Those threats indeed come in the context of the arrest of
Mr. Kumar Lama, a Nepali army colonel who was charged with torture by the
authorities of the United Kingdom on January 4, 2013 under universal
jurisdiction law, as well as of five Maoist cadres in Dailekh district, Nepal,
who were charged with the torture and murder of Dekendra Raj Thapa, a
journalist, in 2004[3]. Members of AWC were instrumental in getting the UK
authorities to arrest Mr. Lama as well as in filing the Dailekh case.
Actions requested:
Please write to the authorities in Nepal, urging them to:
i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and
psychological integrity of Mr. Yadav Prasad Bastola, Ms. Mandira Sharma, Mr.
Subodh Pyakhurel, Mr. Kanak Mani Dixit, Mr. Sushil Pyakhurel, Mr. Charan Prasai
and Mr. Kapil Shrestha as well as of their relatives and all human rights
defenders in Nepal;
ii. Carry out a thorough, impartial and transparent
investigation into the above mentioned facts in order to identify all those
responsible, bring them before a competent and impartial tribunal and apply to
them the sanctions provided by the law;
iii. Put an end to any act of harassment against Mr. Yadav
Prasad Bastola, Ms. Mandira Sharma, Mr. Subodh Pyakhurel, Mr. Kanak Mani Dixit,
Mr. Sushil Pyakhurel, Mr. Charan Prasai and Mr. Kapil Shrestha, and all human
rights defenders in Nepal, and ensure in all circumstances that they are able
to carry out their legitimate activities without any hindrance and fear of
reprisals;
iv. Conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on
Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations
on December 9, 1998, especially its Article 1, which states that “everyone has
the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to
strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental
freedoms at the national and international levels”, 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 and 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”;
v. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards
and international instruments ratified by Nepal.
Addresses:
· Prime Minister, Dr. Baburam
Bhattarai, Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Nepal, Singha Darbar,
Kathmandu, Nepal. Fax: + 977-1-4211286, Email: [email protected]
· Inspector General of Police, Mr.
Kuber Singh Rana, Police Head Quarters, Naxal, Kathmandu, Nepal, PO. Box No.:
407. Fax: + 977 1 4 415 593, Email: [email protected] / [email protected]
· Attorney General, Mr. Mukti Nath
Pradhan, Office of Attorney General Ramshahpath, Kathmandu, Nepal. Fax: + 977 1
4262582 / 4218051, Email: [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected]
· Chairman of the National Human
Rights Commission, Mr. Kedar Nath Uppadhya, Pulchowck, Lalitpur, Nepal. Fax: +
977 1 5547973. Email: [email protected]; [email protected]
· H.E. Mr. Shanker Das Bairagi,
Ambassador, Permanent Mission of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal to
the United Nations Office in Geneva, 81 rue de la Servette, 1201 Geneva,
Switzerland, Fax: + 41 22 733 27 22, E-mail: [email protected]
· H.E. Mr Ram Mani Pokharek,
Ambassador, Embassy of Nepal in Brussels, Avenue Brugmann 210, 1050 Brussels,
Belgium. Fax : + 32 2 344 13 61. E-mail: [email protected]
Please also write to the diplomatic mission or embassy of
Nepal in your respective country.
***
Geneva-Paris, March 6, 2013
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code
of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, a OMCT and FIDH venture, is dedicated to
the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete
support in their time of need.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
· E-mail:
[email protected]
· Tel and fax
OMCT + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29
· Tel and fax
FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80
[1] The National Alliance for Human Rights and Social
Justice - Nepal (Human Rights Alliance) is a Coalition of Nepali
non-governmental human rights organisations dedicated to a cause of freedom,
human rights, social justice, and peace in Nepal that was established in 1996.
[2] “People’s action” is a term that was used during the
10-year-long Maoist “people’s war” which ended in 2006. It denotes punishment
to be meted out through direct action, i.e. through violent attacks.
[3] For more information on the case, see OMCT Urgent Appeal
NPL 140113 issued on January 14, 2013:
Properties
Date: March 6, 2013
Activity: Human Rights Defenders
Type: Urgent Interventions
Country: Nepal
OMCT International Secretariat
PO Box 21, 8, rue du Vieux-Billard, CH-1211 Geneva 8,
Switzerland
Phone: + 41 22 809 4939
Fax: + 41 22 809 4929
E-mail: [email protected]
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