UNITED NATIONS
OFFICE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER
FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN NEPAL


PRESS RELEASE – 19 January 2006


TODAY’S ARRESTS IN KATHMANDU

OHCHR-Nepal has confirmed the arrests during the early
morning of 19 January of over 100 persons under
Nepal’s Public Security Act (PSA). Those arrested are
political party leaders and activists, including
students, and leaders of the civil society Citizens’
Movement for Peace and Democracy. Security forces
personnel have also visited the homes of a number of
prominent human rights defenders.

The arrests follow the 16 January imposition of a ban
on all assemblies, processions and sit-ins in most of
Kathmandu and Lalitpur, ahead of a major demonstration
called by the alliance of seven political parties for
20 January and other planned protest actions. Fifteen
other persons have reportedly been served with three
month detention orders under the PSA, following their
arrest during activities in Kathmandu on 17 January
which were regarded as violating the ban.

The Public Security Act permits detention without
trial, initially for up to 90 days, to prevent persons
from committing actions that “undermine the
sovereignty, integrity or public tranquility and order
of the Kingdom.”

The OHCHR Representative met today with Home Minister
Kamal Thapa, who stated that the ban was made
necessary by information received by the authorities
that the 20 January demonstration would be used by the
CPN (Maoist) as an opportunity to incite or commit
violence. The Minister undertook that OHCHR-Nepal
would be provided with the full list of those arrested
and their places of detention, and would have access
to them as guaranteed by the Agreement between the
Government and the High Commissioner for Human Rights,
as would their families. During the day OHCHR-Nepal
human rights officers have visited 97 of those
arrested, in three places of detention: Maharajgunj
Police Training Academy, Maharajgunj Police Battalion
Camp Number 2, and Ghuheswari Armed Police Force camp
in Bhaktapur.

While recognising the serious security situation
affecting Kathmandu in the light of Maoist attacks in
the Kathmandu Valley on 14 January, OHCHR-Nepal
regrets that the complete ban on demonstrations
represents an extreme limitation on the right to
freedom of peaceful assembly.

The human rights concerns raised by the severe
restriction on the right to freedom of assembly are
compounded by the mass arrests under powers of
preventive detention, in apparent violation of the
right to freedom from arbitrary arrest. Suspicions of
Maoist violence in the context of public
demonstrations cannot be used as a justification for
the arrest of the demonstrations’ organisers, many of
whom have repeatedly spoken out against the use of
violence.