CCPR/C/119/D/2184/2012
3.4
Mr. Nakarmi’s conditions of detention at the Bhairab Nath Barracks constituted a
violation of his rights under articles 7 and 10 (1) of the Covenant. Testimonies of former
detainees, as well as the reports of the OHCHR-Nepal and the National Human Rights
Commission, indicate that detainees were permanently handcuffed and blindfolded and
were held in overcrowded cells, with limited access to food of very poor quality, with dirty
water and toilets. In winter, they were forced to sleep on cement floors and were not given
proper clothing. Those detainees who suffered from diseases and infections did not receive
medical treatment. Moreover, the report of OHCHR-Nepal indicated that, according to
detainees’ testimonies, her husband had related health problems that were allowed to
worsen without the necessary medical treatment.
3.5
The author claims that the State party violated article 9 of the Covenant. Her
husband was taken by members of the Royal Nepalese Army and kept incommunicado in
the Bhairab Nath Barracks, without an arrest warrant or an adequate explanation of the
reasons for his arrest. Later, the Army denied that he had been arrested or subsequently
detained. His detention was not entered in any official record or register and his relatives
have never seen him again. He was never charged with a crime nor was he brought before a
judge or any other official authorized by law to exercise judicial power. He was unable to
take proceedings before a court to challenge the lawfulness of his detention.
3.6
Mr. Nakarmi’s incommunicado detention, subsequent enforced disappearance and
the failure by the authorities to conduct an effective investigation concerning his
whereabouts and fate have maintained him outside the protection of the law since 23
September 2003, preventing him from enjoying his human rights and freedoms.
Consequently, the State party is responsible for a continuing violation of article 16 of the
Covenant.
3.7
Although the author reported promptly the arbitrary deprivation of liberty and
enforced disappearance of her husband, no ex officio, prompt, impartial, thorough and
independent investigation has been carried out and his fate and whereabouts remain
unknown to date. Moreover, as of the submission of the complaint, no one had been
summoned or convicted for his arbitrary deprivation of liberty, enforced disappearance,
torture, most likely death and the subsequent concealment of his mortal remains.
Accordingly, the State party has violated and is continuing to violate his rights under
articles 6 (1), 7, 9, 10 (1) and 16, read in conjunction with article 2 (3), of the Covenant.
3.8
The author claims that the State party violated her rights under article 7, read in
conjunction with article 2 (3), of the Covenant, as she was subjected to deep anguish and
distress owing to the arbitrary arrest and subsequent enforced disappearance of her
husband, as well as to the acts and omissions of the authorities in dealing with those issues.
As a result of her husband’s disappearance, she has had to bring up her daughter alone. To
date, the author’s right to know the truth about the circumstances of her husband’s enforced
disappearance, his fate and whereabouts, the progress and result of the investigation, has
been constantly violated by the State party.
3.9
The author also contends that her daughter is victim of a violation of her rights under
article 7, read in conjunction with articles 2 (3) and 24 (1), of the Covenant. She was 3
years old at the time of her father’s disappearance. As a child, she has been particularly
affected, since she has had to grow up without being able to enjoy a family life and
experiencing the ongoing anguish of not knowing where her father is and whether he will
come back. Her mother’s deteriorating mental state had a negative impact on the quality of
her upbringing.
3.10 The author requests the Committee to recommend the State party inter alia to: (a)
order an independent investigation, as a matter of urgency, concerning the fate and
whereabouts of her husband and, in the event of his death, locate, exhume, identify and
respect his mortal remains and return them to the family; (b) bring the perpetrators before
the competent civilian authorities for prosecution, judgment and sanction, and disseminate
publicly the results of that measure; (c) ensure that the author obtains integral reparation
and prompt, fair and adequate compensation; and (d) ensure that the measures of reparation
cover material and moral damages and measures of restitution, rehabilitation, satisfaction
and guarantees of non-repetition. In particular, she requests that the State party
acknowledge its international responsibility, on the occasion of a public ceremony, in the
presence of the authorities and of Mr. Nakarmi’s relatives, to whom official apologies shall
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