C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KATHMANDU 001659

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SA/INS
LONDON FOR POL - RIEDEL
BEIJING PLEASE PASS CHENGDU
GENEVA FOR RMA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/25/2012
TAGS: PREF PHUM PREL NEPAL'>NP IN CH
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON STATUS OF TIBETAN REFUGEES DETAINED IN
NEPAL

REF: KATHMANDU 1245 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: DCM ROBERT K. BOGGS. REASON: 1.5 (B,D).

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FINES PAID; JAILED MOTHER
AND CHILD ARE FREED
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1. (SBU) On August 22 a German philanthropist paid NEPAL's
Department of Immigration approximately USD 1500 in assorted
fees and penalties to secure the release of a Tibetan
refugee, detained since August 2001 for having re-entered
NEPAL without proper documentation (Reftel), and her baby,
born in detention in February. The Department of Immigration
turned over the woman and child to UNHCR. The Tibetan
Reception Center is currently making arrangements for the
pair's onward travel to India.

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COURT RULING REDUCES FINES
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2. (U) On the same day an appellate court in Kathmandu
ordered the Department of Immigration to explain why it had
levied visa and late fees (totaling about USD 10,000) on a
Tibetan refugee in detention for having entered NEPAL without
proper documentation. (Note: Cases for ten others similarly
detained were also filed and are on the court docket.) The
court made no mention of the penalty fees (ranging from USD
65 to over USD 500) the Department of Immigration has also
levied on the detainees.

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GOVERNMENT IMPOSES CONDITIONS FOR RELEASE
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3. (SBU) On August 24 Director of Immigration Lok Bahadur
Khatri contacted poloff to say the 11 detained refugees will
be released from detention provided they pay all penalty fees
(totaling more than USD 3000) and agree to drop the remaining
cases pending before the Appellate Court. Khatri noted the
decision had been taken after the Ambassador brought up the
Tibetans' plight to the Prime Minister.

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REACTIONS FROM OFFICE OF TIBET, UNHCR
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4. (C) Office of Tibet Representative Wangchuk Tsering told
poloff he believes his Office has no option but to scrape
together enough money to pay the penalty fees and withdraw
the appeals. The actual amount to be paid may be
substantially lower than USD 3000, he speculated, as the
woman freed August 22 had almost half of her penalty reduced
on the basis of time served. He has already asked his lawyer
to contact the Department of Immigration to get firsthand
details of the terms for the detainees' release. Meanwhile,
he is attempting to raise privately the money needed to pay
the fines.


5. (C) UNHCR Representative Michel Dupoizat told DCM that
paying the penalty fees for individuals of concern to the
UNHCR--such as these detainees--sets an undesirable
precedent. Dupoizat argues that the problem of transient
Tibetans is a systemic one that needs a larger, procedural
remedy. The Department of Immigration, moreover, assesses
such fees arbitrarily and inconsistently, Supang
Sguansaitgul, UNHCR's Deputy Representative, noted.

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COMMENT
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6. (C) We agree with UNHCR that paying the fees sets an
undesirable precedent. The Government of NEPAL has attracted
considerable heat from our Embassy and others for detaining
the refugees and for assessing such hefty and unjustifiable
fees for their liberty. The Appellate Court apparently
agrees that the fees are unreasonable; hence its order to the
Department of Immigration to justify them. By letting the
detainees go after paying just the penalty fee, the
Department of Immigration avoids a potentially protracted
court battle and more unfavorable publicity while still
maintaining the face-saving position that the detentions were
justified responses to violations of NEPALi law.
MALINOWSKI