NPL 050413
Torture in police custody/ Risk of impunity
The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Nepal.
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by Advocacy Forum (AF), a member organisation of OMCT SOS-Torture Network, about the alleged torture in police custody suffered by Mr. Parshuram Chaudhary, a 24-year-old permanent resident of Deudakala VDC-07, Bardiya district and temporarly living in Boudha, Kathmandu.
According to the information received, on 15 February 2013, Mr. Parshuram Chaudhary, a newspaper delivery boy, was asked to report to the police after his landlord’s house was robbed on the previous day. He went to Metropolitan Police Circle (MPC), Boudha, where he was interrogated about the robbery. He was allegedly tortured during the interrogation, including being beaten with sticks, slapped with palms and kicked with police boots. This process reportedly continued for about three, four days in every four, five days’intervals. After that, he was reportedly threatened various times by Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Umesh Kumar Yadav from Metropolitan Police Crime Division (MPCD), Hanumandhoka, Kathmandu. The police officer allegedly called him on his cell phone, asked him to join him and other policemen in various places, including restaurants and tea shops, and forced him to pay the bills otherwise he would be sent to jail.
According to the same information received, on 2 March 2013, Mr. Parshuram Chaudhary was summoned anew to the MPC, Boudha, where he was illegally detained for four days. On 5 March 2013, he was remanded under the charge of public offence and on the following day, he was allegedly tortured while being again interrogated by ASI Yadav and another unidentified police constable from MPC on the aforementioned robbery. Mr. Parshuram Chaudhary was hit in his face, head and other parts of his body with shoes. He subsequently fell unconscious and when he came round, he was made to sign a paper, which he was unable to read. He was only taken later to a doctor, who applied two stitches on the wound and gave him medicines to stop the bleeding. He was then taken back to MPC, Boudha and detained.
On 19 March 2013, Mr. Parshuram Chaudhary was transferred to MPCD, Hanumandhoka, where he was again interrogated and punched by a plain clothes policeman. The policeman then took his statement but did not read it out. Fearing police reprisals, Mr. Parshuram Chaudhary reportedly signed the paper without reading it. He was later brought back to MPC, Boudha until his release on bail on 29 March 2013. During that timeframe, he was allegedly transferred various times to MPCD, where he was interrogated, tortured and threatened with new charges of drug smuggling by different policemen (senior and junior police officers). As of issuing this urgent appeal, he was not provided with an arrest warrant, a detention letter, a receipt of bail deposit nor a release letter.
The International Secretariat of OMCT expresses its concern about the safety and physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Parshuram Chaudhary. OMCT urges the competent authorities to carry out a prompt, effective, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the allegations of torture and ill-treatment, in accordance with international human rights standards, 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.
OMCT recalls that the authorities have to fulfil their obligations under international human rights law to protect the right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and to bringing to justice those responsible for violating this right.
OMCT recalls that Article 11 of the Convention against Torture 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:
i. Guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Parshuram Chaudhary, his family and the lawyers working on the case;
ii. Carry out a prompt, effective, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the aforementioned facts, in accordance with international human rights standards, the result of which must be made public, in orderto bring those responsible before a competent, independent and impartial tribunal and apply penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iii. Guarantee that no evidence obtained under torture and ill-treatment, or threats thereof, be used in court proceedings against Mr. Parshuram Chaudhary as stipulated in Article 15 of the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;
iv. Ensure that adequate, effective and prompt reparation, including adequate compensation and rehabilitation, is granted to Mr. Parshuram Chaudhary;
v. Ensure the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards, in particular ensure that all acts of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment are clearly defined in law as offences in accordance with the provisions set out in Articles 1, 4 and 16 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and that they be made punishable with appropriate penalties which take into account the grave nature of the crimes as required (which is not the case under the 1996 Torture Compensation Act).
Addresses
Ø Prime Minister, Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Nepal, Singha Darbar, Kathmandu, Nepal, Fax: + 977-1-4211286, Email: info@opmcm.gov.np
Ø 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: info@nepalpolice.gov.np
Ø Attorney General, Mr. Mukti Nath Pradhan, Office of Attorney General Ramshahpath, Kathmandu, Nepal, Fax: + 977 1 4262582, Email: attorney@mos.com.np, info@attorneygeneral@gov.np , socialjus@gmail.com
Ø Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Mr. Kedar Nath Uppadhya, Pulchowck, Lalitpur, Nepal; Email: nhrc@nhrcnepal.org ; complaints@nhrcnepal.org Fax: + 977 1 5547973
Ø Permanent Mission of Nepal, 81 rue de la Servette, 1201 Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: + 4122 7332722, E-mail: mission.nepal@bluewin.ch
Please also write to the embassies of Nepal in your respective country.
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Geneva, 5 April 2013
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
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