Nepal Supreme Court to investigate disappearances

Jan 10, 2007, 11:56 GMT

Kathmandu, - The Nepalese Supreme Court will investigate the status of people who went missing from military custody during the country's decade-long insurgency, newspaper reports said Wednesday.

The Supreme Court asked a committee of top lawyers to start its investigation into the fate of 49 suspected Maoist cadres who reportedly went missing from an army barrack in the Nepalese capital, Nepali language daily Nepal Samacharpatra said.

The judicial committee, which was formed nearly three months ago, had until now limited its investigation to those who disappeared from police custody.

The committee is to begin its investigation Wednesday. The Supreme Court order came in response to a petition filed by family members seeking disclosure on the whereabouts of the 49 people who were held by Nepalese Special Forces.

The United Nations human rights office in Nepal has already accused the army's special forces of being involved in the disappearances.

The Nepalese army had previous denied its role in disappearance, saying it had freed all detainees.

Maoist cadres who were freed by the Special Forces have gone on record as saying many of the detainees were tortured and killed by the soldiers.

However, the accusation has never been proven.

Hundreds of suspected Maoist cadres and sympathizers were held by Nepalese security forces during the insurgency.

Although not proven, it is thought that many were killed. Despite the formal end to the insurgency, many still remain unaccounted for.

Human rights organizations have also accused the Maoists of forced disappearances of hundreds of people.

Nepal's Maoist rebels and the government signed a landmark agreement on November 21, formally ending the decade-long insurgency in which more than 15,000 people died.