Kathmandu: A judicial commission in Nepal says it will summon members of the former royal government for questioning next week for alleged rights violations during anti-king protests.
The commission has also ordered the government to keep a close watch on several former ministers and aides to the monarch to prevent them from fleeing the country.
The former ministers and aides of King Gyanendra are accused of ordering a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in April.
At least 19 people were killed and thousands of others were injured during the protests.
The mass demonstrations forced Nepal's King Gyanendra to give up direct rule and reinstate parliament.
The commission has finished collecting information and will begin questioning former ministers and officials under Gyanendra who were implicated in the crackdown, commission spokesman Dilliraman Acharya said.
"We issued the order to the government to prevent these people from trying to escape," Acharya said. He declined to provide any names.
The order came as Sharad Chandra Shah, one of the king's advisers, flew to Thailand on Thursday. It was not immediately clear whether Shah was included on the list.
A former Supreme Court judge, Rayamajhi, said the investigation would be based on the principle of natural justice and that those summoned would be given ample opportunity to record their statements.
He said the commission had written to the government to keep a watch on the people it needed for questioning. He did not disclose their names.
The king seized absolute power on February 1, 2005, forming a government under his leadership, jailing opposition politicians, suspending civil liberties and imposing emergency rule.
Pro-democracy protests organised by a coalition of political parties and backed by communist rebels forced the king to give up power and reinstate Parliament in April.
The parties named veteran politician Girija Prasad Koirala as prime minister.
Comments
0 comment