**ISTANBUL**
The UN has implicated the tiny Himalayan nation of Bhutan for imprisoning political detainees, particularly Nepali-speaking individuals, possibly without parole for life, concluding that such actions violate international law.
A report, released this week, has renewed calls for Bhutan to respect human rights, as the country upholds a “one nation, one people” policy.
In the detailed report on arrest of three men – Birkha Bahadur Chhetri, Kumar Gautam and Sunman Gurung – in 2008, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said the kingdom had violated the their rights on “discriminatory grounds, because of their political opinion and status as members of a linguistic minority, which are also related to their statelessness, calling it “discriminatory.”
It expressed “concerns” that have been raised about the treatment by Bhutan of linguistic minorities, “indicating a pattern of discrimination against those of ethnic Nepalese origin.”
Bhutanese government has yet to respond to the UN Working Group’s communications.
Since late 1980s until 1990s, Bhutan expelled some 100,000 of its ethnic Nepali population known as Lhotshampas, or the “southern border landers.”
They lived as refugees in Nepal and were later resettled in other countries between 2007 and 2016.
The Human Rights Watch and the Global Campaign for the Release of Political Prisoners in Bhutan have identified at least 37 political prisoners in Bhutan, which presents itself to the world as an enlightened land that promotes “gross national happiness,” in 2023.
Five have since been released after completing lengthy sentences, the Human Rights Watch said.
It said the remaining prisoners are “held in dire conditions without adequate food, clothing, or medical facilities.”
“Bhutan’s international partners should call on the Bhutanese government to release all remaining political prisoners immediately,” said the global rights group.
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