Medical letter writing action: Torture in Nepal

Reports of torture continue to come from Nepal despite several improvements in the human rights situation since the restoration of democracy in 1990. This paper includes information about the following cases of alleged torture: the death of Purna Bahadur Bishwokarma, a 61-year-old man who reportedly suffered from "psychotic depression", after torture in police custody in November 1992; the torture of six of eight people, members of the main opposition UML party, arrested on suspicion of involvement in murder in Sindhuli District in late October; the beating and rape of Manikala Rai while detained by police in Kathmandu in December 1992 and the arrest and ill-treatment of people who protested against her rape and ill- treatment.