14 April 2014 (1 Baisakh 2071), Kathmandu
Subject: Welcoming the government’s decision to take the Krishna Prasad Adhikari case to trial and asking his parents to end their hunger strike
We the undersigned welcome the 13 April 2014 decision of the Government of Nepal to take the 2004 Krishna Prasad Adhikari murder case to trial at the Chitwan District Court, based on the investigation report filed by the Nepal Police. We thank the government for having resisted political pressure and acted on the side of criminal accountability.
The start of the trial in Chitwan is significant in the campaign for justice waged over the last nine years by the Gangamaya and Nanda Prasad Adhikari, parents of Krishna Prasad. It sends a strong message to those who seek to promote impunity in society, and helps clarify the matter that criminal cases from the 10-year conflict period cannot be given a political colour and made subject to amnesty.
The filing of the case by the District Attorney in Chitwan is in accordance with the Supreme Court directive that investigation and prosecution of criminal cases cannot be withheld pending the future formation of a truth and reconciliation commission. The governmental action is supportive of the campaign for rule of law and supremacy of the judicial process, and represents a stand against the abandonment of victims of conflict in the name of political practicality.
We the undersigned urgently ask the parents of Krishna Prasad to abandon their hunger strike, which is on its 171st day. While we have personally and publicly before this asked the couple to give up their fast, we repeat our appeal today in the context of the case that has been filed in Chitwan.
We assure the Adhikari couple of our commitment, as individuals engaged in the protection of human rights, to stand by them as the case proceeds through trial. We will also follow-up on the repatriation of the alleged murderer, named in the trial document, said to be in Northern Ireland.
While welcoming the forward movement on the Krishna Prasad case, we ask the authorities to proceed with investigation and prosecution on other cases of extreme human rights abuse by both state and non-state actors during the conflict period.
Signed by:
Suresh Bhatta, Rashana Dhakal, Kanak Mani Dixit, Charan Prasai, Sushil Pyakurel, Amuda Shrestha, Yagya Thapa, Dinesh Tripathi
Contact: Yagya Thapa 98510-10587