Inspector General of Police
Ramesh Chand Thakuri
Police Headquarters
GPO Box 407
Naxal, Kathmandu
NEPAL
Fax: 011 977 14 415 593
Email: info@nepalpolice.gov.np
Dear Inspector General:
I write out of concern for Rita Mahato, a health adviser at the Women%u2019s Rehabilitation Center (WOREC), which has been attacked by men from Bastipur Village Development Committee in Siraha district who object to WOREC%u2019s work.
Rita Mahato documents cases of violence against women, registers the cases with the police, including providing information about the perpetrators to assist police, and she provides legal and medical support to the victims. As a result of this work, she has received threats of death, rape and kidnapping. In June 2007, some 20 people threw bricks at the WOREC office and staff for about two hours. Police did not take action on any of the attacks the WOREC workers have experienced.
I urge you to take all possible measures to ensure the protection and safety of Rita Mahato.
I call on you to develop a national plan of action to implement the United Nations Human Rights Declaration so that human rights activists in Nepal may carry out their legitimate work without fear of reprisals.
I thank you for your attention to these concerns, and I look forward to your reply.
copy to:
Embassy of Nepal
2131 Leroy Place NW
Washington, DC 20008
Fax: 1 202 667 5534
Email: info@nepalembassyusa.org
