CCPR/C/126/D/2773/2016
violated his rights under articles 2, 7, 8 (3) (a), 9, 10, 14 and 24 (1) of the Covenant. The
Optional Protocol entered into force for the State party on 14 May 1991. The author is
represented by TRIAL International.
The facts as presented by the author
2.1
The author notes that the facts of the present communication must be read in the
context of the widespread and systematic use of arbitrary detention and torture in Nepal, in
particular against children, which is usually met with impunity. 2 Additional factors that
must be taken into account are the existence of a situation of generalized inhumane and
degrading conditions of detention3 and the proliferation of child and forced labour practices,
mainly affecting children from indigenous communities, 4 despite their formal prohibition
across the country.
2.2
In 2007, when the author was 9 years of age, given the extremely precarious
financial situation of his family, he was sent to Kathmandu to work as a domestic worker.
He first worked in a house in which the conditions were such that he could regularly attend
school, and he received a modest salary for his services. However, in 2010, he was sent to
work as a domestic helper for the family of an officer of the Nepalese Army, and, in that
setting, he was no longer allowed to attend school. At age 14, the author was forced to work
every day from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. and was tasked with cooking, kitchen work, cleaning,
sweeping, doing the shopping, taking care of the house, attending to visitors, massaging
feet and washing clothes. Neither the author nor his family received payment for his work.
2.3
While working for the latter family, the author was often subjected to physical and
psychological abuse. In July 2012, unable to bear the abuse any longer, he escaped and
returned to his village. Subsequently, the daughter of the landlord of the Nepalese Army
officer’s house filed a complaint accusing him of theft of gold and other valuables. In order
to convince the author to return to Kathmandu, the police arrested his maternal uncle and
subjected him to torture and other forms of ill-treatment,5 including death threats, until he
promised to bring his nephew back to the capital.
2.4
On 14 August 2012, the author and his uncle travelled to Kathmandu and went to the
Metropolitan Police Range, Kathmandu, to meet the Deputy Superintendent of the
Metropolitan Police. The author was arrested and placed in detention with adults. He was
not notified of the reasons for his arrest or informed of any charges against him. In the
presence of the Deputy Superintendent, the author was subjected to torture on the day of his
arrest and in the following days. He was punched all over the body, hit with plastic pipes on
the soles of his feet (a form of torture known as falanga) and his hair was pulled. The
author was repeatedly requested to confess to his involvement in the stealing of gold and
other objects from the house in which he used to work and to disclose where he had hidden
the valuables. Eventually, he was forced to sign with his fingerprints documents that he was
not allowed to read, which contained a confession to his involvement in the theft.
2.5
On 19 August 2012, the author appeared before the Kathmandu District
Administration Office, which ordered the extension of his detention on the basis of a charge
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5
2
The author is using a pseudonym for the present communication.
The author refers, inter alia, to the Committee’s concluding observations on the second periodic
report of Nepal (CCPR/C/NPL/CO/2), paras. 10, 11 and 17, and the report on Nepal adopted by the
Committee against Torture under article 20 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (A/67/44, annex XIII), paras. 100 and 108.
CCPR/C/NPL/CO/2, para. 12.
The author refers to the Committee’s concluding observations (CCPR/C/NPL/CO/2), para. 18, and
the report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of
indigenous peoples, on the situation of indigenous peoples in Nepal (A/HRC/12/34/Add.3), paras. 26
and 39.
The author provides copy of a medical certificate dated 18 September 2012 from the Forensic
Medicine Department of the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, including the physical
examination of his uncle regarding the torture he allegedly suffered, recording the physical injuries
sustained to his head, thighs, upper arms, face and ears from being beaten by the police with sticks.