Nepal: Torture and maltreatment of young woman

CHILD CONCERN / VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Case NPL 180698.VAW/CC

The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT
intervention regarding the following situation in Nepal.

Brief description of the situation:

The International Secretariat has just been informed by a reliable
source of the torture and maltreatment of a young, married woman, Mrs.
Bina K.C., 17 years of age, detained in the Central Jail Kathmandu,
Nepal.

According to the information received, Mrs. Bina K.C. has been
detained for approximately one month, charged with a public offence (a
quarrel between neighbours). She is a domestic servant in a
foreigner's house and her husband is a worker in a local bread
factory. 

According to the information received, on June 11th, 1998, around 7:00
pm, when Mrs. Bina K.C. was in the prison compound, police officials
beat her, for about fifteen minutes, with their boots, on her stomach
and legs after she was accused, by female guards, of allegedly having
an affair with a guard. She was also pulled by the hair and dragged on
her abdomen. She had allegedly made eye contact with the guard in
question. 

Mrs. Bina K.C. has since been suffering from severe pain in her
abdomen, bleeding in her vagina and general weakness. On June 12th,
the following day, she was taken by the police to the Bir Hospital for
an emergency medical examination. She received emergency medical
assistance that consisted in the injection of a pain killer and in a
prescription for an oral pain killer. According to the doctor on duty,
she may have internal bleeding in her abdomen. Her health has been
deteriorating but she has not been taken back to the hospital.

Following this incident, women detainees started a three-day strike
demanding that: immediate legal action be taken against police
officials who have tortured women, that women not be handcuffed when
taken to the court and hospital, that visitors be allowed to visit
them and that assistants be provided to help women prisoners. The
prison administration agreed to fulfil these demands in a written
document and requested that they put an end to their strike.

Mrs. Bina K.C. has allegedly been harassed by the police, on several
occasions, who have threatened her with reprisal if she made these
events public. Moreover, the prison administration has reportedly
refused to sanction the guards who had beaten her despite the written
agreement they signed.

The International Secretariat would like to recall that these acts are
a transgression of Nepal's international obligations, notably the
Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention against
Torture, ratified by Nepal.

Actions requested:

Please write to the Nepalese authorities urging them to:

i.-	ensure the physical and psychological integrity of Mrs. Bina K.C.
and all other female detainees, provide adequate medical assistance;
and order her immediate release if no valid charges have been brought
against her; ii.-	ensure a thorough and impartial investigation into
these events, identify those responsible for the torture and
maltreatment, bring them before a trial and apply the sanctions
established by law; iii.-	ensure in all circumstances respect for
human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with national laws
and international standards ratified by Nepal.

Addresses:

Prime Minister Girija Koirala. Singh Darbar, Kathmandu Fax : + 977 1
227286 Tel : +977 1 227955

The Minister for Home Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, Singh Darbar,
Kathmandu, Nepal. Fax : + 977 1 227 187 Tel: +977 1 224737

Mr Moti Lal Bohra, Inspector General of Police, Police Headquarters,
Naxal, Kathmandu, Nepal. Fax: + 977 1 415 594 Tel :+977 1 411210

Minister of Law and Justice, Singh Darbar, Kathmandu, Nepal. 

Inspector General of Police, Police Headquarters, Naxal, Kathmandu,
Nepal. Fax: + 977 1 415 594 Tel :+977 1 411210

Attorney General of Nepal, Office of Attorney General of Nepal, Singh
Darbar, Kathmandu, Nepal. Fax: + 977 1 22 72 82 Tel :+977 1 227197


Geneva, 18 June 1998

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this appeal in your reply.

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