Kathmandu, 12 March: A US State department Human Rights 2009 report says impunity for human rights violators, threats against the media, arbitrary arrest, and lengthy pretrial detention were serious problems, according to the US embassy.
Maoists came under heavy criticism; criticism against the government was light.
- Maoist militias engaged in arbitrary and unlawful use of lethal force and abduction. Violence, extortion, and intimidation continued throughout the year.
Numerous armed groups, largely in the terai region in the lowland area near the Indian border, attacked civilians, government officials, members of particular ethnic groups, each other, or Maoist militias.
- The Maoists returned some previously seized property as the CPA requires but kept other illegally seized lands and properties in their possession; they also seized additional properties. Maoists and Maoist-affiliated organizations continued to commit abuses during the year in contravention of the CPA. Maoists regularly extorted money from businesses, workers, private citizens, and NGOs. When individuals or companies refused or were unable to pay, Maoist recrimination was violent or implied the threat of violence.
- The fate of many of those who disappeared during the 10-year Maoist insurgency (1996-2006) remained unknown. The government did not respond to an OHCHR report on 49 disappeared persons who had been arrested and detained at the Maharajgunj barracks in Kathmandu in 2003 on suspicion of being linked to the Maoists, nor did it respond to the OHCHR′s report on disappearances in the Bardiya district where at least 170 persons disappeared between 2001 and 2004.
- Armed groups and political parties deliberately targeted media workers and journalists throughout the country. Female journalists came under particular and increasing threat. Several ethnic and political groups in the Terai seized and destroyed newspapers when the papers declined to publish and highlight protester activities, halt distribution of the newspapers during strikes, or prohibit Nepali-language content in newspapers.
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