Reports indicate that on 21 May 2007 Mr. Basnet received an anonymous phone call from a public telephone booth, in which he was threatened to “bear the results” of his engagement in the struggle against impunity in Nepal.
Mr. Basnet has been working on behalf of conflict victims for a number of years. In September 2006 he filed a writ of mandamus before the Supreme Court, demanding that a Committee be formed to investigate human rights violations that took place during recent conflicts in Nepal. His legal work has been supplemented with a book entitled 258 Dark Days, which chronicles his time in custody in Bhairabnath Battalion’s facilities. The book details the stories of many other detainees in addition to Mr. Basnet himself.
Mr. Basnet has been subjected to cruel treatment in the past during his 258 day incommunicado confinement after being arrested by members of the Bhairabath Army Battalion in February 2004. Following his release he was harassed on numerous occasions by members of the army, and as a result he finally left Kathmandu for some 17 months before returning to Nepal.
LRWC ACTION
Letter by Catherine Morris sent on June 20, 2007
