PUBLIC AI Index: ASA 31/001/2006

09 January 2006

Further Information on UA 228/05 (ASA 31/074/2005, 07 September 2005) Possible "disappearance"/Fear for safety/Fear of torture or ill-treatment

NEPAL Radha Bhusal (f), aged 15, student

Geeta Nepali (f), aged 15

Amnesty International has recently learned that Radha Bhusal and Geeta Nepali were freed on 24 October 2005 following a Supreme Court order that their detention was illegal. Amnesty International received information about the girls’ release in a letter from Nepal’s Ministry of Home Affairs dated 11 December 2005.

The two girls had been re-arrested by police on 5 September shortly after they were released on the order of the district court in Kapilvastu, in southern Nepal. The Nepali human rights organization Advocacy Forum then filed a habeas corpus petition before the Supreme Court, requiring that the two girls be brought before a court or judge. The Supreme Court ordered their release on 23 October.

No further action is requested from the UA network. Thanks to all who sent appeals.