CCPR/C/125/D/2556/2015
searched for her in many places of detention. He had to deposit Nr 50,000 (approximately
€500) to secure her release. On 13 or 14 June 2002, the author and Ms. Junkiri were
released but were requested to report back on certain dates about Maoists activities. They
reported periodically for about nine months, until March 2003. Sometimes, police officers
recording their reports ill-treated them, touching their bodies and using vulgar language. At
some point, the beating stopped but they were sometimes asked to water the garden. The
police threatened to kill them if they missed any reporting day. After the initial dates, the
reporting dates were set for every 7 days, then every 15 days and, at an unspecified date,
the author and her friend were no longer requested to report.
2.7
In June 2002, the author returned to her village and found out that she had become a
social outcast. Aware of the behaviour of security forces towards female detainees, the
villagers assumed that she had been raped and thus bore “impurities”. Her friends in the
village avoided her. She was not able to leave her house for about a month due to the shame
and humiliation and she stopped going to school. Therefore, her formal education was
interrupted for two years. She went back to school in 2004, where she was often ridiculed
as an “impure girl”.
2.8
In February 2009, the author got married. A week after her marriage, her husband
heard about her rape. When he asked her about it, she told him the truth. As a result, her
husband and in-laws rejected her. The author was deeply humiliated and had to return to
her maternal home. She stayed there for two years before her husband finally reconciled
with her.
2.9
The trauma provoked by the sexual violence and torture endured, and the subsequent
stigmatization and rejection left the author with severe psychological sequelae. She suffers
from post-traumatic stress disorder and has ongoing anxiety, nightmares and suicidal
thoughts. She also suffers from various grave physical ailments, including pains in her chest
and problems with her backbone and ribs. She was examined by a physician in Kathmandu
in March 2013 and the doctor advised her to undergo therapy and take medication on a
long-term basis to avoid further damage to her backbone, as she is at risk of paralysis. 7 The
forensic doctor who examined the author on 24 March 2014 found scars on her body and a
nail deformity that were considered to be “consistent with the history provided by the
examinee”.8
2.10 Although many years had passed since the author was subjected to rape, torture and
forced labour, she never complained about these crimes to any authority, doctor or even her
own family. Given the social stigma attached to sexual violence in Nepalese society,
including within the indigenous community she belonged to, it was impossible for her to
seek support in the community, as it would have led to further victimization rather than to a
remedy. Moreover, the author was only a 14-year-old girl and she did not understand the
avenues of justice or how to follow them. She would have needed to be represented by her
parents in legal proceedings, but she was too ashamed to ask for their support.
2.11 In 2011, the author learned about the possibility of applying for interim relief as a
victim of the conflict before the District Administration Office. In January 2011, she
complained about her arbitrary detention and ill-treatment before the Chief District Officer,
but has not received any interim relief to date. In fact, the interim relief excludes from its
scope victims of rape or other forms of sexual violence.9
2.12 On 17 February 2014, a lawyer filed a complaint (first information report) on behalf
of the author. The Deputy Superintendent of the Police at the Kailali District police office
7
8
9
The author provides a medical certificate and medicine prescription from Sahid Memorial Hospital,
with no specified date.
The author provides copies of a medical certificate dated 25 March 2014 attesting to the grave
physical and psychological harm suffered by her and of a certificate dated 24 March 2014 issued by
the Department of Forensic Medicine of the Tribhuvan University indicating that the author suffers
from post-traumatic stress disorder and that her physical injuries match her allegations of physical and
sexual assault.
The author refers to Advocacy Forum, “Discrimination and irregularities: the painful tale of interim
relief in Nepal” (2010), pp. 12, 14 and 28, and CCPR/C/NPL/CO/2, para. 5 (b).
3