The Parliamentary Committee for Social Justice and Human Rights has directed the government, Defense Ministry and Ministry of Foreign Affairs to repatriate Colonel Kumar Lama , who has been detained by the UK authorities, to Nepal and initiate probe against him through Truth and Reconciliation Commission.Metropolitan Police arrested Colonel Kumar Lama, a Nepali national, in East Sussex, United Kingdom, on allegations of torture.
Colonel Lama was later charged with torturing two men in an army barrack in Nepal in 2005, towards the end of the decade-long civil war. The UK courts are therefore exercising the principle of universal jurisdiction in hearing Colonel Lama's case, which provides that certain international crimes - including torture - are so serious that suspected perpetrators should be prosecuted regardless of the nationality of the suspect or the victims, and regardless of where the crime took place. The UK Ambassador to Nepal emphasised this when responding to the Nepalese Ministry of Foreign Affairs after Colonel Lama's arrest, stating that "the action was taken by the Met police according to the UK law, and the UK's international obligation to uphold human rights as a party to the UN Convention Against Torture". According to UK Law, a prosecution for torture requires the consent of the Attorney General. In deciding whether or not a prosecution for torture should proceed, the AG will take into account whether there is sufficient admissible and reliant evidence to afford a realistic prospect of conviction, and whether a prosecution for torture would be in the public interest.
