UK seeks Nepal's assurance for Col Lama release

KATHMANDU, March 8: The release of Nepal Army (NA) Colonel Kumar Lama has been delayed after the UK authorities demanded that Nepal give them official “assurance” that he would not leave the UK until the court gives a final verdict on his case.



Officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said Colonel Lama, who was granted bail by a UK Court last week, will be released after Nepal government assures the UK government through diplomatic channels that he would not be provided with travel documents. [break]



“The UK authorities have sought from us an assurance that he [Colonel Lama] would not leave UK before the next hearing [scheduled for June 5] on his case,” said MoFA Spokesperson Arjun Bahadur Thapa.



Thapa said the ministry is making preparations to communicate to UK authorities through diplomatic channels to allay its concerns. “Our embassy in London has already been asked to post the bail amount and get him released,” he further said.



The embassy has hired lawyers and is working on the technical aspects involving Lama´s case to secure his release. The release of Lama is likely next week or later, official said.



Responding to a petition seeking his release on bail filed earlier, the Chelmsford Crown Court on March 2 had ordered to release Lama on a bail of £10,000. The bail was granted on condition that he stayed in UK until the court gave its final verdict.



A specialist unit of the Metropolitan Police Service had arrested Colonel Lama, 46, in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex on January 4. Lama has been accused of torturing two detainees between April and October 2005 at the Gorusinghe Army Barracks in Kapilvastu when the Maoist insurgency was at its peak.



Earlier, Westminster magistrate had remanded Lama in custody, denying his plea for release on bail. The next hearing on his case is due for June 5.



Lama, who is on duty with the UN mission in South Sudan, had reached the UK to visit his family members during Christmas holiday.



While the UK government justified the arrest saying that it was done as per the “universal jurisdiction”, Nepal government maintained that the arrest made without prior information to the government concerned was not only against the international laws but also against the "general principle of the jurisdiction of a sovereign country”.

Related story

Rabi Lamichhane lands in Chitwan, heading to Bhairahawa by road