NPL 005 / 0805 / OBS 064
Arbitrary arrests and detentions / Judicial proceedings
Brief description of the situation:
The Observatory has been informed by the Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC) about the arbitrary arrest of Mr. Gagan Kumar Thapa.
According to the information received, on July 27, 2005, around 9 a.m., Mr. Gagan Thapa, a student leader and former General Secretary of the Nepal Students’ Union (NSU), was arrested by plainclothes security forces of the Anamnagar Ward Police Office.
Along with his friends, Mr. Ajaya Shivakoti and Mr. Subodh Acharya, Mr. Thapa was allegedly on his way to visit Mr. Pradeep Poudyal, Vice-Chairman of NSU, who, with five other student leaders, Messrs. Thakur Gaire, Saroj Thapa, Pushpa Kumar Shahi, Narayan Bharati, and B.P. Regmi, is currently being held at the Ward Police Office in the Singh Durbar district, under the Public Offence Act. All of them were arrested in New Baneshwor while protesting the government decision to introduce what they labelled as “nationalist education” a few weeks ago.
Mr. Thapa was allegedly taken in a van to the Ward Police Office of Tinkune, Kathmandu. The authorities reportedly accused him of shouting anti-monarchist slogans during a demonstration in the Ratna Park area of Kathmandu on July 24, 2005. A special court gave permission to detain him for seven days.
On August 3, 2005, he was taken to the Special Court, and his police remand was extended for five more days. According to Nepalese law, once arrested one can be detained for seven days with the permission from the court and such detention can be extended for up to 25 days.
Mr. Gagan Thapa is reportedly being detained at the Hanuman Dhoka District Police Office, Kathmandu. The authorities are planning to file sedition charge against Mr. Thapa, under the Offences Against the State Act.
The Observatory recalls that on April 26, 2005, Mr. Gagan Kumar Thapa had previously been arrested by plainclothes security forces, before being released on May 5, 2005 after the Supreme Court of Nepal had declared his arrest illegal. He had been re-arrested on the same day from the District Police Office of Kathmandu. Detained at the Nepal Electricity Corporation Training Centre in Bhaktapur, he was released on May 25, 2005 following the intervention of the Supreme Court (See Observatory Urgent Appeal NPL 003/0605/OBS 044).
Background information:
On February 1, 2005, King Gyandendra and the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) seized effective control of all level of powers, declaring a state of emergency and suspending fundamental constitutional rights. Lawyers, human rights defenders, political and student leaders, as well as journalists and trade unionists were then arbitrarily arrested. (See Observatory Urgent Appeal NPL 002/0205/OBS 010, OBS 010.1 and Press Release, February 22, 2005). The state of emergency was lifted on April 29, 2005.
Actions 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. Gagan Kumar Thapa, Mr. Pradeep Poudyal, Thakur Gaire, Saroj Thapa, Pushpa Kumar Shahi, Narayan Bharati, B.P. Regmi, and all human rights defenders in the country;
ii. release immediately and unconditionally Mr. Gagan Kumar Thapa, Mr. Pradeep Poudyal, Thakur Gaire, Saroj Thapa, Pushpa Kumar Shahi, Narayan Bharati, B.P. Regmi, and all human rights defenders who remain arbitrarily detained;
iii. end all forms of harassment and ill-treatment of human rights defenders in Nepal, and guarantee in all circumstances that human rights defenders and organisations are able to carry out their work without any hindrance;
iv. comply with the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998, in particular article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually or collectively, to promote the protection and fulfilment of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, article 6 on the right “to know, seek, obtain, receive and hold information about all human rights and fundamental freedoms”, “to freely publish, impart or disseminate to others views, information and knowledge on all human rights and fundamental freedoms” and “to study, discuss, form and hold opinions on the observance, both in law and in practice, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and, through these and other appropriate means, to draw public attention to those matters”, as well as 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”;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and other international human rights instruments ratified by Nepal.
Addresses:
– His Majesty King Gyanendra, Narayanhity Royal Palace, Durbar Marg, Kathmandu, Nepal,
c/o Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Nepal to the United Nations, 81 rue de la Servette, 1201 Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +4122 733 27 22; E-mail: mission.nepal@ties.itu.int
– Mr. Nain Bahadur Khatri, Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Pulchowck, Lalitpur, Nepal; Email: nhrc@ntc.net.np
– Mr. Shaha Bir Thapa, Inspector General of the Armed Police Force, Armed Police Headquarters, Swayam, Nepal, Fax: + 977 1 4 275 685, Email: armedpolice@wlink.com.np
– Lieutenant Colonel Raju Nepali, Royal Nepal Army, Human Rights Cell, Royal Nepalese Army Headquarters, Singha Durbar, Kathmandu, Nepal, Fax: + 977 1 4 226 292, Email: humanrights@rna.mil.np
Please also write to the diplomatic representations of Nepal in your respective countries.
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Geneva - Paris, August 5, 2005
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.
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