FORMER ROYAL MINISTERS RELEASED

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 001428 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/05/2016 TAGS: PHUM PGOV NP SUBJECT: FORMER ROYAL MINISTERS RELEASED Classified By: Classified by Ambassador James F. Moriarty. Reasons 1.4 (b/d). Release of Three of King's Ministers -------------- ¶1. (U) On June 4, the Supreme Court ordered the release of three former ministers of His Majesty's Government of Nepal from jail. The Government of Nepal (GON) had arrested them on May 12 under the Public Security Act (PSA) for suppressing the "People's Movement," but had not charged them with a specific crime. Attorneys for the three ministers, former Foreign Minister Ramesh Nath Pandey, former State Minister for Information Shris Shumshere Rana, and former Assistant Minister for Health and Population Nikshya Shumshere Rana had submitted a Habeas Corpus petition for their release. The Supreme Court determined that there were no procedural grounds for their detention. Nischal Pandey, son of former Foreign Minister Pandey stated that lawyers had advised his father to be prepared for re-arrest on charges because the current political leadership was unhappy with the Court's decision. Political Parties Upset -------------- ¶2. (C) Many political party leaders expressed their disappointment with the Supreme Court's decision. Govinda Raj Joshi, a member of the Nepali Congress (NC) Central Committee, stated that the decision to release may have been wrong politically, but that he believed strongly in the rule of law and would not question the decision of the Supreme Court. Lilamani Pokharel, Vice-President of the People's Front Nepal (PFN),said that the release was negligence on the government's part for not having come up with legal grounds to further detain them. Bharat Mohan Adhikari, central committee member of the Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML),commented that it was a sign of the government's political weakness. Comment -------------- ¶3. (C) The Supreme Court ordered the release of the former Ministers on purely procedural grounds -- something they also did on many other occasions when the former Royal government arrested politicos under the PSA. The Supreme Court's decision is noteworthy in demonstrating the Justices' continued independence and adherence to the rule of law. MORIARTY