Nepal: UN Urges Arrest Of Suspects In Murder Of Young Girl

Nepal: UN Urges Arrest Of Suspects In Murder Of Young Girl Seven Years Ago

New York, Feb 16 2011 10:10AM

The top United Nations human rights official in Nepal today called on
the Government to arrest the four army officers suspected to have
carried out the torture and killing of a 15-year-old girl, stressing the
need to end impunity for a crime that was committed seven years ago.

Maina Sunuwar was killed in the Birendra Peace Operations in central
Nepal on 17 February 2004. In September 2007, Nepal’s Supreme Court
ordered that the case be investigated, and the following year, criminal
charges were filed and arrest warrants issued for four accused Nepal
Army personnel. The warrants have yet to be executed.

Jyoti Sanghera, the Head of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights in Nepal (<"http://nepal.ohchr.org/">OHCHR-Nepal), urged
the Government to enforce the court order against the four accused army
personnel.

“For the past five years, OHCHR has been one voice among many calling
for justice in the case of Maina Sunuwar,” she stated in a news release
issued in Kathmandu.

The Supreme Court and the Kavre District Court have issued rulings and
the Office of the Attorney General has filed charges “but justice is yet
to be realised,” she noted.

“Upholding the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law by
fully complying with court orders is an essential principle of a
democracy. Continuing to ignore court orders perpetuates impunity in
Nepal and sets a negative precedent regarding all human rights cases.”

ENDS

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