NPL 002 / 0205 / OBS 010.2
Releases
Brief description of the situation:
The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources, including the Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC), of the release of two human rights defenders.
According to the information received, on July 4, 2005, the Nepalese government released Mr. Krishna Pahadi, former President of the Human Rights and Peace Society (HURPES) and former Chairman of the Nepal section of Amnesty International,along with Mr. Basu Koirala, General Secretary of the Nepali Congress-affiliated Nepal Students Union. They were reportedly released in the presence of the judge of the Kathmandu district court.
Mr. Krishna Pahadi had been arrested at HURPES offices in Kathmandu on February 9, 2005, and was detained under the Public Security Act (PSA). He was arrested on the eve of peaceful protests planned by HURPES, a leading Kathmandu-based rights group, against the royal takeover of February 1, 2005 (See background information). Mr. Pahadi was released a day before his planned fast-unto-death protest against the royal takeover. Indeed, on July 3, 2005, he had announced that he would stage an indefinite hunger strike within the police detention centre from July 5, in order to demand restoration of democracy and human rights in the country.
Mr. Basu Koirala had been arrested during peaceful demonstrations on March 13, 2005 organised against the royal move.
The Observatory thanks all the persons, organisations and institutions who intervened in favour of Mr. Krishna Pahadi and Mr. Basu Koirala’s releases.
Background information:
On February 1, 2005, King Gyandendra and the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) seized effective control of all level of powers, declaring a sate 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.
Action requested:
Please write to the authorities in Nepal urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of all human rights defenders in the country;
ii. release immediately and unconditionally all human rights defenders and prisoners of opinion 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. ensure the implementation of 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
Please also write to the diplomatic representations of Nepal in your respective countries.
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Paris - Geneva, July 8, 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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