SOUTH ASIA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

2275The authorities are more likely to transfer sick prisoners to hospitals than theywere in the past. However, due to the inadequacy of appropriate facilities, the authoritiessometimes place the mentally ill in jails under inhumane conditions.The Government permits local human rights groups and the International Committeeof the Red Cross (ICRC) to visit prisons.d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile.—The Constitution stipulates that the authoritiesmust arraign or release a suspect within 24 hours of arrest, but the policeat times violate this provision. Under the Public Offenses Act of 1970, the policemust obtain warrants for an arrest unless a person is caught in the act of committinga crime. For many offenses, the case must be filed in court within 7 days ofarrest. If the court upholds the detention, the law authorizes the police to hold thesuspect for 25 days to complete their investigation, with a possible extension of 7days. However, the police occasionally hold prisoners longer, though the SupremeCourt has, in some cases, ordered the release of detainees held longer than 24 hourswithout a court appearance.Detainees do have the legal right to receive visits by family members, and theyare permitted access to lawyers only after authorities file charges. In practice thepolice grant access to prisoners on a basis that varies from prison to prison. Thereis a system of bail, but bonds are too expensive for most citizens. According to theDepartment of Prisons, about half of the 6,000 persons imprisoned are awaitingtrial. Due to court backlogs, a slow appeals process, and poor access to legal representation,pretrial detention often exceeds the period to which persons subsequentlyare sentenced after a trial and conviction.Under the Public Security Act, the authorities may detain persons who allegedlythreaten domestic security and tranquillity, amicable relations with other states,and relations between citizens of different classes or religions. Persons whom theGovernment detains under the act are considered to be in preventive detention andcan be held for up to 6 months without being charged with a crime. Human rightsgroups allege that the police have used arbitrary arrest and detention during the‘‘People’s War’’ to intimidate communities considered sympathetic to the Maoists(see Section 1.b.). Since the insurgents began their terrorist campaigns, police havearrested 5,866 suspected Maoists. Of those persons arrested, 1,654 had been triedand 4,182 had been released.The 1991 amendments to the Public Security Act allow the authorities to extendperiods of detention after submitting written notices to the Home Ministry. The policemust notify the district court of the detention within 24 hours, and it may orderan additional 6 months of detention before authorities file official charges.Other laws, including the Public Offenses Act, permit arbitrary detention. This actand its many amendments cover crimes such as disturbing the peace, vandalism,rioting, and fighting. Human rights monitors express concern that the act vests toomuch discretionary power in the Chief District Officer (CDO), the highest-rankingcivil servant in each of the country’s 75 districts. The act authorizes the CDO toorder detentions, to issue search warrants, and to specify fines and other punishmentsfor misdemeanors without judicial review. Few recent instances of the use ofthe Public Offenses Act have come to light, since it has become more common, particularlywith the Maoists, to arrest persons under the Public Security Act. In Januarylocal authorities in Biratnagar arrested Laxmi Mudbari, the central member ofthe Maoist-affiliated All Nepal Women’s Association (Revolutionary), under the act;Mudbari remained incarcerated at year’s end. Human rights commission officials reportedseveral other cases of arrests or detentions under the act, but were unableto provide details of the cases.Authorities detained journalists and their advocates on occasion, on suspicion ofhaving ties to or sympathy for the Maoists (see Section 2.a.).The police have arrested or illegally detained some suspected Maoist insurgentsand held them incommunicado. There are no other political detainees.The Constitution prohibits exile; it is not used.e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.—The Constitution provides for an independent judiciaryand the Supreme Court has demonstrated independence; however, lower levelcourts remain vulnerable to political pressure and bribery of judges and court staffis endemic. The Supreme Court has the right to review the constitutionality of legislationpassed by Parliament. In the past it has ruled that provisions in the 1992Labor Act and in the 1991 Nepal Citizenship Act are unconstitutional. In 1995 theCourt also decided that the dissolution of the Parliament at the request of a formerPrime Minister was unconstitutional, and ordered the body restored.Appellate and district courts have become increasingly independent, althoughsometimes they bend to political pressure as well. In Rolpa, one of the districts mostaffected by the ‘‘People’s War,’’ human rights groups have accused the district courtsof acting in complicity with CDO’s in violating detainees’ rights. These groups allegeVerDate 11-MAY-2000 13:46 Sep 20, 2001 Jkt 071555 PO 00000 Frm 00119 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\COUNTRYR\S71555\71555.036 HINTREL1 PsN: HINTREL1