URGENT ACTION

POLICE BEAT TWO DETAINEES IN PUBLIC

Two men have been detained and severely beaten by police in south-eastern Nepal. They are in urgent need of medical attention for the injuries they received.

Sushan Limbu, aged 23, was detained at the Urlabari Police Station in the Morang District on 12 July, for failing to pay his bill at a local hotel. His friend Bhakta Rai, aged 24, went to the police station the next day to inquire about him. Police officers took both men into a cell and beat them, then took them out into the street, stripped them to their underwear and continued to beat them in public. According to people who were present, they were beaten with iron rods, kicked and punched. Sushan Limbu and Bhakta Rai were forced to crawl on their knees and elbows over stony ground.

Both men suffered extensive injuries, and a court has ordered the police to ensure that they receive medical treatment, but the police have not yet done so. The men's lawyers have been denied access to them, and they are at risk of further torture and other ill-treatment.

Sushan Limbu and Bhakta Rai are still held at Urlabari Police station, where the officers who beat them are still working.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in English or your own language:

• calling on the authorities to ensure that Sushan Limbu and Bhakti Rai receive all necessary medical treatment immediately, and are not subjected to further torture or other ill-treatment;

• calling on them to ensure that Sushan Limbu and Bhakta Rai are granted immediate access to their lawyers;

• urging them to order a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation into the allegations of torture and other ill-treatment by the police at Urlabari Police Station and bring those responsible to justice;

• insist that the authorities suspend all police officers accused of involvement in the torture, including those in command, and move Sushan Limbu and Bhakta Rai to a safer place, if they are to remain in custody.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 4 SEPTEMBER 2009 TO: