Hepalese Authorities Tell UN All Detained Protesters to be Released

The Nepalese authorities have told United Nations human rights officials that all those detained during the recent pro-democracy demonstrations which disrupted the Himalayan kingdom will be released, a UN spokesman said today.

Many detainees held under the Public Security Act were released today, according to the Nepal bureau of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Kathmandu, the capital, which is monitoring the situation, spokesman Stephane Dujarric told a press briefing in New York.

OHCHR-Nepal reported that the curfew had been lifted following King Gyanendra's speech last night in which he agreed to reinstate the suspended parliament.

The Office, which has teams travelling throughout the capital and other cities and regions, observing rallies that took place in many locations, said there were no reported clashes with security forces.

Over the previous weeks of growing violence in the pro-democracy demonstrations, OHCHR-Nepal has deplored the "grossly excessive use of force" by police and army troops in which up to 14 people were reported to have been killed.

Source: United Nations

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