08 July 2008
Nepal’s Supreme Court orders release of three prominent Tibetans
(PTI; TibetInfoNet) Nepal's Supreme Court ordered the release of Tashi Dolma and Ngawang Sangmo, President and Vice President of the Regional Tibetan Women's Association; and Kalsang Chung, Director of the Tibetan Reception Centre. The three were arrested from their homes in June 2008 by plainclothes police and handed three-month prison sentences under the Public Security Act for their alleged involvement in anti-China activities. Local sources in Kathmandu stated that they had been on a list of eleven prominent members of the Tibetan community in Nepal handed over to this effect by the Chinese embassy to the Nepali government. Earlier during the proceedings, Nepal's Home Secretary Umesh Prasad Mainali had written to Supreme Court stating: "They were arrested for involvement in activities against China and activities that threatened the cordial relations between the two countries". The Court, however, ruled that their detention was illegal. Justices Min Bahadur Rayamajhi and Top Bahadur Magar said the accused were arrested without mentioning the effect of their activities on peace and security in Nepal, hence their detention was illegal. "There is no basis for reaching a conclusion that they threatened peace and security just by chanting slogans", the judges said in their ruling. The international community had also expressed concern over the arrests, and France, on behalf of the EU, issued a statement saying: "We note that none of the three participated in violent actions and that Kalsang Chung is not known to have participated in any protests at all".