JURIST Supported by the University of Pittsburgh
PAPER CHASE NEWSBURSTDigest RSS feedFull RSS feed
Serious law. Primary sources. Global perspective.


Monday, November 20, 2006

Nepal rights commission report holds King responsible for protest violence
Melissa Bancroft at 8:46 PM ET

[JURIST] Nepal's High Level Probe Commission [JURIST report] submitted its final report Monday to the Nepalese government, concluding that King Gyanendra [official profile; BBC profile] and some 200 members of his administration were responsible for the violent response to the democracy protests [JURIST news archive] last April that left 22 dead and more than 5,000 wounded. The commission, formed [JURIST report] by the interim government in Nepal [JURIST news archive] and led by a former supreme court justice, has the authority to interrogate officials, issue warrants, and make recommendations regarding actions which should be taken against rights abusers. The commission's final report does not include recommendations, but Nepalese Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has promised to "fully implement" the report [NepalNews.com report]. The commission, whose findings were leaked to the media [JURIST report] last week, reasoned that because Gyanendra chaired Nepal's council of ministers, he was legally responsible for the actions of the cabinet. Rights activists are calling for those responsible for the violent crackdown to be prosecuted; Gyanendra has been stripped of most of his powers [JURIST report] since his fall from power in April, including his right to immunity.

Rights groups have also urged Koirala to make the report available to the public [NepalNews.com report], asserting that the government's failure to release the report publicly violates a right to information and also runs contrary to the spirit behind the pro-democracy movement. AP has more.






Link |  | print | subscribe | RSS feeds | latest newscast | Facebook page

For more legal news check the Paper Chase Archive...


LATEST LEGAL NEWS

 Two Bosnian Serbs sentenced to prison for roles in Srebenica massacre
3:58 PM ET, May 25

 UN rights chief urges accountability for coup in Guinea-Bissau
3:03 PM ET, May 25

 HRW: Hungary ignored recommendations to change laws limiting media freedom
2:34 PM ET, May 25

 click for more...

Get JURIST legal news delivered daily to your e-mail!

LATEST FORUM

'Crowing' About Iran Sanctions Should Stop
DOMESTIC
Daniel Joyner
UA School of Law

ABOUT

Paper Chase is JURIST's real-time legal news service, powered by a team of 30 law student reporters and editors led by law professor Bernard Hibbitts at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. As an educational service, Paper Chase is dedicated to presenting important legal news and materials rapidly, objectively and intelligibly in an accessible, ad-free format.

CONTACT

Paper Chase welcomes comments, tips and URLs from readers. E-mail us at JURIST@jurist.org