RCCC verdict another setback for democracy: US
The government of the United States of America has said it is disturbed by the July 26 conviction of former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and other opposition political leaders by the Royal Commission on Corruption Control (RCCC).
In the first international reaction to the verdict, the US State Department termed the controversial Commission as “an extrajudicial organisation” appointed by King Gyanendra after he imposed a state of emergency in February this year.
In a strong-worded statement issued Wednesday, spokesman of the US State Department, Sean McCormack, said acting outside of the Nepali judicial system, the Commission served as investigator, prosecutor, and judge in this case, ultimately imposing a harsh sentence on the former Prime Minister for alleged corruption in the Melamchi Water Supply Project.
“In taking this action, the Commission ignored the findings of the Asian Development Bank, the principal donor to the project, which examined similar allegations and did not find evidence to support them,” the spokesman said.
The United States continues to call on the King to restore civil liberties
to the people of Nepal. Unfortunately, the conviction of the former Prime
Minister through an extrajudicial process represents another setback for the
restoration of democracy, the US government said.
Nepali authorities, known for defying the international public opinion time and again, are yet to comment on the latest US government’s reaction.
Knowledgeable sources say similar strong reactions to the RCCC verdict is likely to come from the European Union and Nepal’s southern neighbour, India.
In a dramatic announcement, the RCCC on Tuesday handed out the verdict of jailing former premier Deuba and former minister Singh for two years and slapped a fine of Rs 90 million each. Three officials and a contractor of the project were also convicted in the same case.
Deuba and Singh have been challenging the Commission’s authority to detain them and did not post bail of Rs five million each as demanded by it last month. nepalnews.com by July 28 05
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