Asia - Thursday, October 1, 2009 17:58 - 0 Comments

Maina Sunuwar 5th anniversary of her killing

Maina Sunawar  was 15 years old when members of the Nepalese armed forces arbitrarily arrested her. Since that date – February 17, 2004 – she has disappeared. All the evidence indicates that she was tortured to death by members of the military, who have since sought to deny her arrest and cover up her death. It is thought that Maina was detained because the military were searching for her mother, Devi Sunuwar, who reportedly witnessed the killing of two young girls, one of whom had been gang-raped, by members of the security forces in Pokharichauri, Kavre District, Nepal.

Her family members have sought her in vain in numerous detention centres. They have since been forced to leave their village, having received threats from members of the security forces. Initially, as is the way in many such cases, the military denied holding Maina. Reports surfaced indicating that she had been tortured to death in detention. She was reportedly beaten, dunked in water and subjected to repeated electric shocks. Her injuries led to her death in detention. Following these reports, the military claimed that Maina had been killed while trying to escape from custody, and that they had returned her body to her family following a post-mortem examination. Her family has not received her body and there has been no evidence of any such post-mortem examination. Continue…

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