Kathmandu, 26 June 2010.

The words of one Nepali child:

“I was taken in a police van...I was tortured inside the police van by the two policemen sitting next to me. They pressed my legs with their heavy boots and also kicked me with their boots. They scolded me using abusive language. A policeman … also pulled my hair out by the roots...The next morning ... policemen interrogated me. The policeman tried to force me to confess and started torturing me. The policeman beat me with a plastic pipe ... all over my body.             

While interrogating me about the case, he beat me with a plastic pipe...This continued for about half an hour...The policeman tied both my hands and knees with plastic rope inserting a stick between my knees...The policemen hung me from the inserted stick and beat me forcefully on the soles of my feet with a plastic pipe...They threatened to chop off my hands and legs and kill me if I continued to deny the charge...   

From the fear of death and the unbearable torture, I finally confessed.”

In Nepal, one in four children arrested by police are tortured. Children as young as 7 have been arrested and taken into police custody, often for minor offences such as the theft of small food items. Under Nepali law torture is not defined as a criminal offence. Therefore, human rights abuses of this nature are carried out with impunity.

Whilst laws exist to protect children from the use of violence by police and security forces, in practice they are rarely implemented. Approximately 99% of children detained are currently held in adult facilities in direct contravention to both international standards and Supreme Court directives. Depending on the nature of the crime, children can be held in pre-trial detention for up to 90 days, which is sometimes longer than the possible sentence for the crimes alleged against them.

In a report to be released on the 26th June to mark the International Day against Torture, Advocacy Forum detail the methods of torture used against children in police detention.  Children have reported being brutally beaten on all parts of their body with canes, pipes and rifle butts; having their fingernails squeezed with pliers; being beaten on the soles of their feet with sticks or plastic pipes before being forced to run and jump and receiving threats not only to sever their limbs but also to kill them if they do not confess.

To show commitment to the ‘UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture’ on the 26th June, Advocacy Forum is calling on the government and people of Nepal to help eliminate the use of torture against children, to uphold the rights of children laid down in law, make torture a crime and to investigate and punish those who commit torture.

Please, show your support and help us to end child torture by signing our petition

Thank you