Please - Odhikar

Syed Fahim Munaim: Good Afternoon to all of you! This morning we heard many fascinating
discussions, regarding the protection of victims and witnesses and the situation in some south
Asian countries. The discussants were very vocal. This afternoon we would like to carry on this
trend because it is an important issue. Although my session has been scheduled for the
afternoon, I came to the morning sessions to understand the perspectives of the other countries
as well. It is a learning process. I am not a lawyer, nor judge, nor an expert. I am from the media.
Throughout the morning session I was waiting for someone to bring up the role of media in each
of the States represented here. However, all we are talking about was essentially that the media
has to be a partner in order to disseminate information and to highlight the plight of victims and
witnesses. In fact I want have the liberty to mention that we have a special page called 'Law and
our Rights' and one of the paper presenters has had one of his very interesting and readable
articles published in that page. Now I have some in-house announcements, as paper presenters
we have Subodh Pyakurel from Nepal and Rukshan Fernando from Sri Lanka. Discussants at
this session include Nurul Alam, Asif Nazrul, Naima Haider and Maqsoodul Haque. I must
thank Odhikar, which is one of those organizations that come up with such timely and pertinent
issues. I must confess here that as a media person we are lacking behind and would like to be
involved in the process of disseminating what is going on in the country.
Subodh Raj Pyakurel, Nepal: Any innocent victim who suffers direct/indirect threats or
physical, emotional, financial harm as the result of the commission of a crime should be
protected by the criminal justice system. The term "victim" also includes the spouse, legal
guardian, parent, child, sibling, or another family member for any victim who is under 18 years
of age, incompetent, incapacitated or deceased. Institutional entities are also considered victims.
Any person who is culpable for the crime being investigated is not considered a victim.
A witness is someone who has information or evidence concerning a crime, and provides
information regarding this knowledge to a law enforcement agency. Where the witness is a
minor, the term includes an appropriate family member. The term "witness" does not include
defence witnesses or those individuals involved in the crime as a perpetrator or accomplice.
Victims and witness who are innocent and are not aware of any wrong committed against them
deserve to be protected against loss and injustice. There can be no justice for the victims until
society acknowledges that a crucial principle of criminal justice is to protect and rehabilitate or
compensate the victims properly and adequately. The victims are considered and treated as a
burden of society and they are left totally without resources in a complete devastation. Without
touching their problems sincerely, the study of the Constitution as a fundamental law of the land
and the application of other statutes as the essence of rule of law itself in a real sense remain
incomplete.
Victims experience physical, financial and psychological/emotional impacts of victimization. At
the time of the crime, or upon discovering that a crime has occurred, victims are likely to
experience a number of physical reactions to the event. These may include increased heartbeat,
hyperventilation, shaking, numbness, dryness of the mouth, etc. Victims may also suffer a range
of physical effects including insomnia, loss of appetite, lethargy, headaches, muscle tension,
nausea etc. As for financial impact of crime, victim may incur costs such as: repairing property
or replacing possessions, installing security measures, accessing health services, participating in
the criminal justice system for instance attending the trial, obtaining professional counselling to
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Report 2005