An excerpt from The Economist, Nov. 17th 2005 issue

According to a recent report by a UN special rapporteur, torture is systematically practised by the security forces. Shailendra Guragain, of the Centre for Victims of Torture (CVICT) in Katmandu, says that although reports of torture have declined since the coup, he believes abuses are more common than ever. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International agree.

Most female victims are sexually assaulted. For males, the mistreatment is somewhat different. They are forced to eat food that is by any normal standard inedible. They are beaten on the soles of the feet. If the security forces consider someone to be a serious threat, he or she is killed in the barracks.

Bhaikaji Ghimire, a journalist, was arrested after he wrote an article calling for a new constitution, which is also a Maoist demand. He says that during 14 months in army custody he was kept permanently blindfolded and bound, given electric shocks, hung upside down, half-drowned and then beaten unconscious. He and other prisoners were forced to urinate on themselves and others. He was finally released in August this year, six months after being handed over to the civil authorities. Foreign diplomats are privately speculating on the possibility of future International Criminal Court trials.