Submitted by crinadmin on
[KATHMANDU, 20 April 2006] – In the Nepali government’s crackdown on the current wave of demonstrations, police have brutally beaten and shot children, Human Rights Watch said today. The Nepali government must take immediate action to end all unnecessary use of force against pro-democracy protesters by the security forces. The authorities must also independently investigate and prosecute all officials found to be responsible, including those at the highest levels. Further information
“The security forces have brutally beaten demonstration leaders with intent, and children as young as 12 without regard,” said Jo Becker, an advocacy director for Human Rights Watch. “These forces are meant to protect people exercising their rights, not abusing them for it.”
Massive protests have taken place across Nepal for the past two weeks as part of a nationwide strike called by Nepal’s seven opposition parties and Maoist rebels calling on King Gyanendra to relinquish direct power. The protests have drawn tens of thousands of people into the streets in Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan, and other areas across the country. More than 2,000 people reportedly have been injured and at least nine have died as security forces responded to the largely peaceful protests with live and rubber bullets, beatings, and tear gas.
Human Rights Watch has visited six Kathmandu hospitals that collectively have treated more than 1,350 injured protesters during the past two weeks of protests. At four of the hospitals, Human Rights Watch interviewed more than a dozen injured protesters who had suffered gunshot wounds, bone and skull fractures, and head trauma. Three of the victims were children, including two 12-year-old boys. One boy suffered a skull fracture from being hit by police during a demonstration on 16 April. Another boy was shot in the head while running away from a protest in Gongabu in northern Kathmandu on 11 April, and a bullet remained lodged near his right ear.
Injured protesters told Human Rights Watch that they believed the security forces deliberately targeted protesters’ heads. This allegation was supported by medical personnel at three hospitals, who reported that more than 60 per cent of the injured protesters had suffered head injuries, primarily from being struck with lathis (long police batons).
A doctor at Kathmandu’s Teaching Hospital told Human Rights Watch that about two-thirds of the 250 protesters treated there since early April had head injuries, nearly one-third had been struck by rubber or live bullets, and that some had multiple injuries from both lathis and gunshot wounds. This doctor said the number of head traumas indicated that security forces did not simply intend to disperse the protesters, but that “their intention was to kill.” The seriousness of the injuries inflicted suggests that the intent was to prevent those injured from participating in subsequent demonstrations and deter others from taking part.
On 11 April, a group of 15 to 20 police beat medical personnel from a Kathmandu hospital who were providing assistance during a demonstration. A pharmacist told Human Rights Watch that police beat him and at least seven other medical personnel after they had transported and treated individuals injured during the protest. Three of the medical officers suffered bone fractures or head trauma. For three days after the incident, police maintained a heavy armed presence outside the hospital.
Protesters and local human rights observers told Human Rights Watch that they believe government infiltrators participated in protests specifically to incite violence by participants. Two victims of police beatings at a 17 April demonstration in Chahabil, a neighbourhood in the east of Kathmandu, described how plainclothes security forces encouraged protesters to throw stones, and pushed demonstrators towards uniformed police just prior to the police’s use of lathis and tear gas against protesters.
One protest leader who was beaten by police during a demonstration on 10 April told Human Rights Watch that police appeared to target the leaders of demonstrations in order to prevent them from organising future protests. Local human rights observers monitoring the demonstrations also confirmed that the police are specifically targeting protest leaders for abuse.
Some of the injured had not participated in protests. One injured man interviewed by Human Rights Watch was shot in the eye while driving a car past a Gongabu protest on 13 April. He had not participated in the demonstration, and said there was no warning before security forces began to fire. Medical personnel stationed near a protest site also reported that police followed demonstrators who fled into local homes and beat the residents of the house, including those who had not participated in the protests.
Nepal’s senior superintendent of police, Madhav Thapa, has refused requests from the National Human Rights Commission to appear before the commission to respond to allegations of excessive use of force by security personnel at the 11 April demonstration at Gongabu.
Human Rights Watch called on the Nepali security forces to abide by the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials in policing demonstrations. The principles require that law enforcement officials, in carrying out their duty, shall as far as possible apply nonviolent means before resorting to the use of force. Whenever the lawful use of force is unavoidable, law enforcement officials must use restraint and act in proportion to the seriousness of the offense. The legitimate objective should be achieved with minimal damage and injury, and preservation of human life respected.
“The Nepali government must quickly and thoroughly investigate these allegations if it hopes to regain people’s confidence,” said Becker. “The demonstrations are about reinstating political and civil rights. As the past year has shown, further curtailing these rights will likely only deepen the crisis.”
Human Rights Watch called on the Nepali government to investigate allegations of excessive use of force, protect the rights of all Nepalis to freedom of expression and assembly, and urged King Gyanendra to commit to reinstating an elected, civilian government.
Selected Testimonies
“I was participating in the protest, shouting slogans. Some people began throwing stones at the security forces. I ran away, and got shot while running.”
– 12-year-old boy, shot in the head at Gongabu, a neighbourhood in Kathmandu, 11 April 11
“I was chanting slogans. We were marching, some 300 to 400 people. It was peaceful, no stone-throwing. The police came and we ran away. While running away, I fell down. The police came and hit me on the head. I tried to protect my head with my hands, and my hands were also injured. I also have baton marks on my back. When they thought I was dead, they left me. There were 30 police, and people who saw it told me that each police officer beat me about three times.”
– 44-year-old man, secondary school principal, beaten repeatedly at Gongabu, 9 April
“We started the demonstration in a peaceful manner, it also ended peacefully. But at the end of the programme, all of a sudden, police were present in all directions. Police began targeting the leaders. I was advocating for a peaceful rally, telling demonstrators not to throw stones. A policeman beat me with a lathi. The police are targeting leaders, since once they are injured they will not be able to participate [in the protests].”
– 41-year-old man, injured in the shoulder and knee at Chabahil, Kathmandu, 10 April.
“I was chanting, singing and dancing. It was around 4:30 p.m. We were demonstrating and the police came and started beating us with sticks and batons. They were beating me, and I cried and cried, thinking they would leave me alone, but they didn’t. Finally two friends came and pulled me away to the side of the road. I was hit about 20-25 times. They were beating not only me, but all the demonstrators. They want to discourage the demonstrators.”
– 18-year-old woman, beaten repeatedly by police in Chabahil, Kathmandu, 17 April.
“During the protest, our medical personnel were assisting protesters, going out with stretchers to transport protesters back to the hospital. The police noticed and came and asked why we were treating the protesters. There were about 15 or 20 police. They began to beat us, and injured seven or eight of our medical officers. Two police officers beat me on the neck and shoulder. One medical officer was beaten by eight police and injured in the head. Another had his hand broken. After the incident, for three days, 150 police surrounded our hospital. We set up a temporary treatment center in a tent down the road.”
– Pharmacist at Community Health Center, beaten by police on 11 April, Kathmandu.
“When we go to rallies, we have an agreement not to use stones, and to remain peaceful. Yesterday, some people behind us, pushed us towards police in uniforms, and said, ’Come on, let’s throw stones.’ I saw their ID cards, so knew that they were [plainclothes] security forces. We would keep telling them no. Some threw stones and tried to incite others to violence. I got hit on the head with a stick and kicked on the side. I don’t know who. Others were hit at the same time. So many people being beaten by uniformed police. They are trying to hit us deliberately on the head, so we couldn’t stand. I was knocked unconscious.”
– 28-year-old woman, struck on the head at Chabahil (Kathmandu), 17 April.
pdf: http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2006/04/19/nepal13230.htm