Letter by William Gomes Salem-News.com
Human Rights Ambassador William Nicholas Gomes contacts officials in Nepal over police torture and illegal arrest.
Rt. Hon. Dr. Baburam Bhattarai |
(HONG KONG) - Policemen denying their identity and operating illegally; it is a problem thatranges from right here in Salem, Oregon, to as we learn, Kathmandu, Nepal, where a young man was recently tortured by police in civilian clothes.
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It's nothing like the song made famous by Bob Seger, we could only wish. Instead it is a place where thousands of Nepali-speaking families who have lived for several generations in Bhutan, exist in refugee camps.
Jit Bahadur Subba, 29, is one of the many people in the area living in the Bhutanese refugee camp, Beldangi II. He was picked up by police and tortured, after he had applied for resettlement to the USA. His ordeal began as he was going through the immigration process at the transit office of the International organization for Migrant (IOM) in Baluwatar, Kathmandu.
He was tortured and threatened by police who refused to identify themselves, which is one of the most basic requirements of any law enforcement officer, if for no other reason, than to simply demonstrate that they are indeed police. Tax-paid government law enforcement officers are not granted permission to operate as shadowy, illicit figures.
Besides, according to Nepal's Evidence Act, 1974, statements “extorted by torturing or threatening to placing the accused in a situation in which he was compelled to do so against his will” cannot be used against the accused in court proceedings.
| “ | May 14,2012 Rt. Hon. Dr. Baburam Bhattarai Prime Minister of Nepal Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Nepal Singh Durbar P.O. Box: 43312 Kathmandu Nepal Fax: +977 1 4211 086 Email: info@opmcm.gov.np, bhattaraibaburam@gmail.com Dear Prime Minister of Nepal, I am William Nicholas Gomes, Human Rights Ambassador for Salem News.com. I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the torture faced by a Bhutanese refugee, Jit Bahadur Subba, at the hands of two policemen in the Central Investigation Bureau, Maharajganj, Kathmandu. According to the information I have received from the Asian Human Rights Commission |
