Gagan Thapa is prisoner of conscience: Amnesty
Amnesty International (AI) has declared student leader Gagan Thapa, who is in custody since Wednesday in Kathmandu, as a ‘prisoner of conscience’, demanding his immediate release.
In a statement on Friday, the London-based rights watchdog said: “Amnesty International considers him a prisoner of conscience, detained solely because he has peacefully exercised his right to freedom of expression.” In custody, according to the AI, Thapa is at risk of torture or ill-treatment.
Thapa, a former general secretary of the Nepali Congress-affiliated Nepal Students Union (NSU), was arrested by plainclothes policemen from Anam Nagar on Wednesday morning when he was returning to his home after meeting student leaders detained at the Anam Nagar Police Office. Authorities have accused him of sloganeering against the institution of monarchy.
Thapa is being detained at the District Police Office, Hanuman Dhoka, and the authorities are known to have been preventing anyone from his family to the media from meeting him.
On the same day of his arrest, the Special Court had permitted the police authorities to detain him for seven days until a case against him was formally lodged under the Offence Against the State Act.
Thapa is the first political figure to face sedition charges after the Feb 1 royal takeover. Eight student unions have been carrying out angry protests in Kathmandu since Thursday, demanding his release. nepalnews.com mbk July 30 05
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