Court martial for Nepal officers

Sushil Sharma
BBC News, Kathmandu

The Nepalese army has said that three senior officers are facing a court martial for allegedly committing human rights abuses.
The colonel and two captains were held in connection with the death of a teenage girl in custody last year.
The army has not disclosed the names of the accused. If found guilty they could be jailed for up to seven years.
An army official told the BBC that the colonel was the highest-ranking officer to date to have been court martialled.
'Committed'
The three are accused of involvement in the death of Maina Sunuwar, who was being held in custody in a barracks at Kavrepalanchok, north-east of the capital, Kathmandu, last year.
The army last week said it had taken action against more than 100 soldiers for committing excesses over the past three years of operations against Maoist rebels.
Most of them had been jailed, dismissed or demoted, it said.
Army officials say they are committed to respecting human rights and to punishing those found guilty of abuses.
There has been persistent national and international criticism of the army by human rights groups over alleged abuses during military operations against the Maoists, who have also been criticised.
About 11,000 people have died since the Maoist insurgency was launched 10 years ago to replace the monarchy with a communist republic.
Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/
Published: 2005/03/30 11:37:14 GMT© BBC MMV Sphere: Related Content