CCPR/C/126/D/2773/2016
of public offence.6 Being 14 years of age at the time, pursuant to domestic legislation, he
should have been taken before a separate juvenile bench of the District Court and not before
the District Administration Office. At his appearance before the District Administration
Office, the author was erroneously reported by the police as being 18 years of age. The
District Administration Office subsequently granted the extension of his detention on three
occasions. The author did not have legal representation at any of those stages.
2.6
The author was held at the Metropolitan Police Range, Kathmandu, between 14
August and 6 September 2012, where the detention conditions were inhumane and
degrading. He was forced to stay in a severely overcrowded cell, together with 12 others.
Detainees were forced to share one toilet, which was located right next to the cell and
smelled bad. Detainees were forced to clean it on a rotational basis. During his detention,
the author was able to bathe only twice, and he received food only every other day. The
food provided was of poor quality and prepared in unhygienic conditions.
2.7
During his detention at the Metropolitan Police Range, the author was subjected to
torture on a daily basis. He was brought to an interrogation room, where he was tortured by
eight police officers. He was forced to lay on a table, with his legs tied to the table, while
the police officers whipped the soles of his feet with a stick (falanga). He was also slapped
in the face, punched on the back of his head, whipped on his back and waist and subjected
to electric shocks under his fingernails.
2.8
On 6 September 2012, charges for “some public offence”7 were eventually brought
against the author. On that occasion, the author was able to meet with a lawyer for the first
time since his initial arrest. The Kathmandu District Administration Office ordered his
release on bail, fixed at 1,000 Nepalese rupees (approximately $8.60). The author and his
family were unable to pay the bail, and therefore he remained in detention.
2.9
On 8 September 2012, when he appeared before the Kathmandu District Court, the
author explicitly reported having been subjected to torture and requested a medical
examination. A medical examination was performed, and the doctor documented that the
author had an abrasion on his forearm and a fever and was in a general state of depression. 8
Nevertheless, that did not trigger any investigations into the reasons for his condition. On
11 September 2012, the author’s grandfather submitted a complaint before the Kathmandu
District Court explicitly claiming that the author had been subjected to torture and
inhumane detention conditions and seeking the conduct of a medical examination.
Although one was conducted, no thorough, prompt, independent and impartial investigation
into the author’s allegations was ever carried out. On the same day, the author filed a
complaint for the violations suffered before the National Human Rights Commission.
However, it failed to take any action on the case.
2.10 On 30 September 2012, the author was formally charged with theft and was brought
before the Kathmandu District Court. Recognizing that the author was a child, the Court
declared that he could be released on bail and fixed the amount at 10,000 Nepalese rupees
(approximately $86). Given that the author and his family were unable to pay the bail, he
was sent to a juvenile correction centre, pending the conclusion of the court proceedings.
On 1 October 2012, the author was transferred to the juvenile correction home located in
Sano Thimi. At the juvenile correction home, the author was held in an overcrowded cell,
in which he was forced to remain almost all day. He was released on 25 June 2013,
pursuant to an order issued by the Supreme Court of Nepal. 9
6
7
8
9
The author states that, although he was arrested and detained on 14 August 2012, the police produced
a document stating that he was arrested on 17 August 2012 in Kathmandu for allegedly causing
trouble to the public. The author claims that those allegations were evidently false and fabricated,
given that he was already detained at that time.
See previous footnote.
The author provides a copy of a certificate dated 13 September 2012 concerning the medical
examination conducted to assess his general physical and psychological condition.
The author provides copy of the decision of the Supreme Court of 25 June 2013.
3