Nepal Army absolves schoolgirl’s murderer

KATHMANDU - As the world celebrated the 12th International Justice Day Friday, human rights defenders condemned Nepal Army’s acquittal of an army major found guilty of torturing a schoolgirl to death during the civil war.

“Nepal’s political leaders should make sure that the Nepal Army hands over an officer implicated in the murder of a 15-year-old girl to the police and that the officer is held accountable in civilian criminal proceedings,” the London-based Human Rights Watch and Kathmandu-based Advocacy Forum said in a letter to the leaders of Nepal’s political parties.

Even four years after the end of the Maoist insurgency in Nepal and the restoration of democracy, a succession of governments has failed to bring human rights violators to justice, both from security forces and the Maoist party.

One of the most controversial cases during the 10-year “People’s War” was the arrest in 2004 of schoolgirl Maina Sunuwar by the army in an apparent bid to silence her family, who had witnessed the rape and murder of at least two teenaged girls.

Maina was tortured to death in an army barracks in Kavre district, close to the capital. For years, the army denied having arrested her but later her body was found buried near the camp.

Major Niranjan Basnet and three other army personnel were charged with illegal detention, torture, and murder by the Kavre District Court in 2007, and an arrest warrant and a summons were issued.

But the army refused to allow Basnet to be arrested. Nor did he appear in court.

Instead, he was sent on a UN peacekeeping mission in Chad, a deployment that is regarded as a reward.

However, after the rights bodies raised the issue, for the first time in Nepal’s history, the UN sent him back to Nepal.

The army has challenged the expulsion and the challenge was endorsed by the defence ministry that said the UN action was unwarranted.

The army also held an internal inquiry and on Wednesday, found Basnet “innocent”.

“The Maina Sunuwar killing has become a test case for justice in Nepal,” said Tejshree Thapa, South Asia researcher for Human Rights Watch.

“Political leaders, regardless of their ideology, should unite to ensure that perpetrators of torture and murder have no place to hide.”

Though the peace accord between the Maoist guerrillas and the ruling parties was followed by elections in 2008, not a single person has been prosecuted in civilian courts for serious human rights abuses during the armed conflict.

Human Rights Watch said that there was compelling evidence against Basnet.

In Basnet’s own statement during military investigations, he apparently admitted involvement in the illegal detention and interrogation of the underage Maina, saying “she might have died due to water pouring (or) giving shocks, the methods used during interrogation”.

He also admitted that he participated in a cover-up to hide Maina’s death in army custody. Statements from other officers indicate that Basnet was a willing participant during the interrogation.

Ironically, the charge against the army officer resurrects at a time a Maoist guerrilla fighter is being sought by police for murder.

Kali Bahadur Kham, a “brigadier” of the Maoists’ People’s Liberation Army, is being sought by police for the murder of a businessman in 2008 and recent cases of robbery.

Like the army, the Maoists have refused to hand over Kham to the authorities. Last year, like Basnet, he too received a reward when he was promoted to the Maoists’ decision-making central committee.