Kathmandu, November 23
Nepal’s authorities must take urgent and concerted actions to prevent custodial deaths including through appropriate legal accountability measures, Amnesty International Nepal says on Tuesday.
The organisation says it is launching a campaign for preventing police custody deaths as a part of Amnesty International’s Write for Rights campaign.
“In the last three months alone, there have been at least six reported incidents of custodial deaths. Neither the Nepal Police nor the Office of the Attorney General has maintained a record of such deaths and the exact number of such deaths is not available as there is no official record,” the organisation says in a statement.
“The rising cases of reported custodial deaths is worrisome. No one should die for the safety of the state. Once detained, it is the state’s responsibility to protect the lives of the detainees,” Amnesty International Nepal Director Nirajan Thapaliya says in the statement, “In case they die in custody, there should be fair, impartial and independent investigation into the incident with promptness upholding accountability and ensuring effective remedies to the families of the victims.”
