Demand accountability in Nepal

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:05:11 +0000

On 17 February 2004, members of the Nepal Army took 15 year-old Maina Sunuwar from her home and tortured her to death at a nearby army camp.

They repeatedly pushed her head under water and applied electric shocks to her wet hands and feet. She died following an hour and a half of this torture. They buried her body in a secret grave.

For more than five years, Devi Sunuwar – Maina's mother – has tried to expose the truth about what happened to her daughter, calling for those who tortured and killed Maina to be brought to justice.

Her campaign resulted in Maina’s body being located and exhumed in March 2007. It also prompted the army to conduct an internal investigation into her death.

However, that investigation only resulted in court martial proceedings for minor offences in September 2005, at which the three accused were given a six-month prison sentence and a fine. The men were released immediately on the grounds that the time they spent awaitingtrial in barracks should be counted toward their sentence.

Add your voice to the campaign for justice for Maina Sunuwar. Demand that those who tortured and killed her are held accountable for their actions.

Image description: Devi Sunuwar, holding a photograph of her daughter Maina, standing beside a photograph of her exhumed grave, 10 February 2009. © Advocacy Forum / Robert Godden

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Demand accountability in Nepal