17 February, 2011. Seven years after the arrest and killing of Maina Sunuwar, the Government of Nepal should take immediate steps, with the full cooperation of the Nepal Army, to ensure that criminal proceedings move forward, Advocacy Forum (AF), Amnesty International (AI), Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) said today. Fifteen-year old Maina was brutally tortured to death by a group of army personnel back on 17 Feb, 2004.
Expressing their solidarity with Maina’s family, the four organizations called on the Nepali authorities to immediately transfer Major Niranjan Basnet to the Kavre District Court where he has been charged with murder, and arrest Babi Khatri, Sunil Prasad Adhikari and Amit Pun who have all been implicated in her death.
“Maina’s family is still waiting for justice for her killing, as in so many cases of crimes during the armed conflict, suggests that the realization of victims’ right to a judicial remedy for serious crimes remains a distant dream in Nepal,” a joint Press Statement issued by the organizations said.
“We have consistently pointed out that the failure to hold perpetrators accountable on both sides of the conflict drives the continuing culture of abuses,” said Mandira Sharma, Executive Director, Advocacy Forum. “There is a direct link between past impunity and continuing impunity, and there will be no movement forward as long as all sides continue to benefit from ignoring victim and justice issues.”
Please read Advocacy Forum’s publication “Maina Sunuwar: Separating Fact From Fiction” for a detailed analysis of the case.
