Nepal: Alleged Torture and Ill-Treatment Inflicted by the Police on Mr. Khimlal Rijal

(SALEM) - Mr. Khimlal Rijal was arrested on 9 September 2012 on charges of snatching a gold chain and taken to the litigation section at Kaksi District Police Office (DPO).

At the police station the man is said to have been beaten with plastic pipes on his thighs, back and soles for about five minutes by about six policemen. Needless to say, this is clearly, if true, a terrible act of state terrorism that was undeserved and highly illegal under international law.

According to reports, after being forced to lay down on a table, the policemen rolled a three meter diameter iron rod on Khimlal Rijal's thighs for about 30 minutes.

Afterwards, he was asked to stand up and one policeman grabbed him by his hair and made him rotate for about ten minutes.

Mr. Khimlal Rijal was allegedly tortured for about two hours while being interrogated on his alleged involvement in various theft cases. At about midnight, he was taken to Paschimanchal Zonal Hospital in Kaski district for a medical check up. However, according to Mr. Rijal, the doctor did not ask him questions about the marks on his body.

In his letter to Mr. Bijaya Kumar Gacchedar, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Home Affairs in Nepal, our Human Rights Ambassador William Nicholas Gomes, urges the PM and Nepali 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.

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Nepal: Alleged torture and ill-treatment inflicted by the police on Mr. Khimlal Rijal

Saved under Torture

Mr. Bijaya Kumar Gacchedar,
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Home Affairs,
Ministry of Home Affairs,
Singha Darbar, Kathmandu,
Nepal.
Tel: + 977-01-4211208
Email: gunaso@moha.gov.np

Dear Mr. Bijaya Kumar Gacchedar,

I am William Nicholas Gomes, Human Rights Ambassador for Salem-News.com.

I came to know about the situation from International Secretariat of OMCT that they have been informed by Advocacy Forum (AF), a member organisation of OMCT SOS-Torture Network, about the alleged torture and ill-treatment inflicted by the police on Mr. Khimlal Rijal, a 22-year-old permanent resident of Pwang VDC-6, Rukum district.

I came to know about the situation from International Secretariat of OMCT that they have been informed by Advocacy Forum (AF), a member organisation of OMCT SOS-Torture Network, about the alleged torture and ill-treatment inflicted by the police on Mr. Khimlal Rijal, a 22-year-old permanent resident of Pwang VDC-6, Rukum district.

According to the information received, Mr. Khimlal Rijal was arrested on 9 September 2012 on charges of snatching a gold chain and taken to the litigation section at Kaksi District Police Office (DPO). At the police office, he was allegedly beaten with plastic pipes on his thighs, back and soles for about five minutes by about six policemen. After being forced to lay down on a table, the policemen rolled an about three meter diameter iron rod on his thighs for about 30 minutes. Afterwards, he was asked to stand up and one policeman grabbed him by his hair and made him rotated for about ten minutes. Mr. Khimlal Rijal was allegedly tortured for about two hours while being interrogated on his alleged invovlement in various theft cases. At about midnight, he was taken to Paschimanchal Zonal Hospital in Kaski district for a medical check up. However, according to Mr. Rijal, the doctor did not ask him questions about the marks on his body.

According to the same information received, on 10 September 2012, four unidentified policemen took Mr. Khimlal Rijal to an under construction building behind the office building of Kaksi DPO. The policemen inserted a stick through his bents knees and handcuffed hands and hanged him in the air. He was then beaten with plastic pipes on his soles, punched and kicked on his body parts for about two hours while again being interrogated. He was later taken to Kaski Distric Court. Although Mr. Rijal reportedly informed the judge of the torture suffered, the judge did not order a medical checkup. He was remanded for seven days.

I share my deep concern about the safety and physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Khimlal Rijal. I urge 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.

I recall 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.

I recall 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 (…)”.

I am urging to the Nepali authorities to:

i. Guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Khimlal Rijal;

ii. 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;

iii. Guarantee that no evidence obtained under torture and ill-treatment, or threats thereof, be used in court proceedings against Mr. Khimlal Rijal as stipulated in Article 15 of the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;

iv. Order his immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards, or, if such charges exist, bring him promptly before an impartial, independent and competent tribunal and guarantee his procedural rights at all times;

v. Ensure that adequate, effective and prompt reparation, including adequate compensation and rehabilitation, is granted to Mr. Khimlal Rijal;

vi. 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).

Sincerely

William Nicholas Gomes

Human Rights Ambassador for Salem-News.com

www.williamnicholasgomes.com

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Salem-News.com Human Rights Ambassador William Nicholas Gomes is a Bangladeshi journalist, human rights activist and author was born on 25 December, 1985 in Dhaka. As an investigative journalist he wrote widely for leading European and Asian media outlets.

He is also active in advocating for free and independent media and journalists’ rights, and is part of the free media movement, Global Independent Media Center – an activist media network for the creation of radical, accurate, and passionate telling of the truth. He worked for Italian news agency Asianews.it from year 2009 to 2011, on that time he was accredited as a free lance journalist by the press information department of Bangladesh. During this time he has reported a notable numbers of reports for the news agency which were translated into Chinese and Italian and quoted by notable number of new outlets all over the world.He, ideologically, identifies himself deeply attached with anarchism. His political views are often characterized as “leftist” or “left-wing,” and he has described himself as an individualist anarchist.